Daily Rhythms

Scripture. Prayer. Thankfulness. Love for Others.

The Resilient Rhythms Journal contains one hundred ‘Daily Rhythm’ pages, with each page an opportunity to grow in these four rhythms:

Scripture Reading, Prayer, Thankfulness and Love for Others.

The details of our days—what we do with our time, energy, and attention—tends to reflect what we value the most in life. The small choices we make and the seemingly insignificant actions we take all have a cumulative and lasting effect. In the end, our habits end up forming us more than we form them.

This is true in many areas of life, but none more so than our life with Christ. We don't simply fall into Christlikeness and love for God. We cultivate, with God's help and grace, a life oriented toward him over a sustained period of time. The grace that we receive in Christ compels us toward a life of disciplined pursuit in his direction. It requires endurance across a lifetime—but it is made up of individual days.

That is why our daily rhythms are so important.

Forming Resilient Rhythms

The key question we need to ask is: how do we form resilient rhythms? It’s one thing to have good intentions of meeting with God each day—it’s another to follow through by spending time with him for the sake of being formed into a person of love.

The work of transformation is up to God, but we believe that each of us has a responsibility and opportunity to position ourselves to come before him regularly by cultivating rhythms that are resilient in all seasons of life. Here are five foundational steps that we suggest taking to form resilient rhythms;

Place: The first step to take is choosing a ‘place’ to practise your rhythm of meeting with God each day. Picking a place means naming a time and space where you’ll go to pray, read the Scriptures and consider how you can be thankful to God and embody love for others. By doing this, your rhythms occupy a specific place in your life—both physically and in your calendar. Begin by asking yourself; when and where will I meet with God each day?

Pattern: This step refers to the method or framework used to guide your time with God. For example, you might decide to use the Swedish Method as a method for reading the Scriptures, or a prayer list or acronym for your prayer times. These are ‘patterns’ that provide shape and offer form in your time with God. By knowing the way you’ll approach reading the Bible, it removes ambiguity about what you’re doing with your time in God’s word. Deciding on a pattern for your prayer life provides intentionality and gentle reminders about what is important to pray for. As you consider what patterns might work best for your rhythms, we’d encourage you to see them as helpful guides rather than rules to stick to. They’re not intended to be rigid—it can be healthy if they change over time or with different seasons—but they’re often beneficial in forming resilient rhythms!

Partner: Next, we encourage you to choose a partner who you can talk with about your rhythms. It could be someone in your small group, a friend, a mentor or anyone else who you trust and who you know loves Jesus. The purpose of this is mutual and hopeful encouragement and accountability. We’re called to follow Jesus together and not on our own. By having a partner who knows what rhythms you’re seeking to grow in your life, you’ll have someone who encourages you on the journey as well as a gentle guide for the inevitable seasons where meeting with God feels harder.

Posture: After choosing a place, pattern and partner, we encourage you to then consider the posture that you bring into your time with God. By posture, we don’t mean your physical positioning but the attitude of your heart. It can be easy to feel distracted or to fall into going through the motions of reading the Bible and prayer without bringing your whole self before God in love. We recommend stopping to pray for your time with God as you enter that space—and we’ve even included a prayer for your rhythms inside the journal that you might like to use in this way!

Permeate: The previous four steps are all practical ways that we believe, with God’s help, you can grow resilient rhythms in your life. The final step is one that comes with time—and it’s allowing your rhythms to permeate your whole life. The vision we see in the Scriptures is one where we pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:17-18) and where we meditate on God’s word day and night (Psalm 1:2). In the end, rhythms are more than just moments—they determine how we move through life. They help us to ‘abide’ in Jesus in all that we do. Once you’ve begun to practise your rhythms each day, our greatest encouragement is to ask God to take your rhythms and graciously allow them to permeate every part of your day!

Below you’ll find a guide to each of our four daily rhythms—Scripture reading, prayer, thankfulness and love for others. They build on the five steps mentioned above by suggesting ‘patterns’ you can use for each of these daily rhythms, as well as recommended resources.

There’s freedom in when you make time for these rhythms each day. It might be that you use the Resilient Rhythms Journal for all four rhythms at the same time, or you could break it up by creating time for prayer and Scripture reading in the morning and thankfulness and love for others in the evening. The important part is that it works for you!

CHOOSING A PATTERN FOR READING THE SCRIPTURES

When it comes to developing a rhythm of reading the Scriptures, one of the most helpful steps to take is choosing a ‘pattern’ that guides your reading. We’re big advocates of ‘the Swedish Method’, which is a way of reading the Bible that is based on four images; a lightbulb, a question mark, a cross and an arrow.

It’s easy to remember, yet comprehensive in its scope. It allows room for questions—even if they remain unanswered. It focuses on Jesus. And it lifts our eyes to consider how we can live and love differently. As you use the Swedish Method, it might help to draw the pictures each day as well! It can be especially useful for visual learners and serves to reinforce specific parts of the passage. These are the four parts of the Swedish Method:

Scripture

The Lightbulb: This stands for something that ‘shines’ from the passage. It could be the verse that impacts you the most, draws your attention, or seems to be the focal point. A simple question to ask is ‘what stands out most as you read the verses?’

The Question Mark: This is for anything that you find difficult to understand, or a question you would like to ask about the passage. After writing it down you can look in other parts of the passage, pray and ask God to help, look in a commentary, or discuss it with a friend, mentor, or person you trust.

Cross: The cross focusses our attention on Jesus. The whole Bible points us back to Jesus in some way. A helpful question to ask here is ‘how does this remind me of the significance of Jesus’ life, teaching, death or resurrection?’

Arrow: This stands for personal application to your life. A helpful question to ask is ‘how does this part of the Bible encourage me to love God or others more?’

CHOOSING A PLAN FOR READING THE SCRIPTURES

One of the most helpful practical steps you can take when developing a rhythm of reading the Scriptures is choosing a ‘plan’. By having a plan, you know exactly what you’ll be reading each time you pick up your Bible. You can find Bible reading plans on the Youversion Bible Reading App, create a plan to suit you with Bible Reading Plan Generator, join one that your local church is using, or use one of the Resilient Rhythms Bible Reading Plans that we regularly release. To get you started, we’ve put a 30-day bible reading plan below that takes you through the Gospel of John!

If you’re looking for resources to take you deeper in your rhythms of reading the Scriptures, two that we recommend reading are;

  • Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation by Richard Foster.

  • Read this First: A Simple Guide to Getting the Most from the Bible by Gary Millar.

Prayer

CHOOSING A PATTERN PRAYING

As part of following our five foundational steps above, we suggest deciding on a ‘pattern’ for praying. There’s no requirement to do this — God hears all our prayers no matter their form — though we’ve seen from experience that having a pattern for praying indexes our hearts towards the priorities of God and shapes us into biblical pray-ers.

Here are three simple and easy to remember patterns for prayer that you could consider using;

ACTS Acronym

  • Adoration: Begin by praising God for who he is.

  • Confession: Bring your sin before God in repentance.

  • Thanksgiving: Give thanks to God for what he has done.

  • Supplication: Ask God for his help in the ways that you and others need it.

PRAY Acronym

  • Pause: Take a moment to stop and be still before beginning to speak.

  • Rejoice: Thank God for who he is and what he has done.

  • Ask: Bring your petitions and requests before God.

  • Yield: Surrender your life into the love and care of God.

The Lord’s Prayer

In Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 we find Jesus’ teaching on ‘how to pray’, often called the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a prayer that touches every circumstance we face, and by following the patten is gives us it can keep us from becoming too introspective when we pray. The Lord’s Prayer does this by lifting our eyes to our need for forgiveness, demonstrating dependence upon God for the provision of our daily bread, and praising our Father for who he is. It also prevents us from forgetting about those who suffer by asking for God’s kingdom to come—the kingdom that reverses the curse of sin, suffering and death in our world—and brings hope through Jesus. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, it holds all of the realities of life together and brings them before God, acknowledging that he cares for people in all circumstances.

Martin Luther, the great reformer of the 16th century, had a particularly helpful practice for praying the Lord’s Prayer. He encouraged believers to pray this prayer every day and to personalise each section of it according to the needs and desires that arose that day; “I do not bind myself to such words or syllables, but say my prayers in one fashion today, in another tomorrow.” We’ve found Luther’s practice particularly helpful because it takes the priorities of this prayer that Jesus taught, and uses it as a model that provides a place for every circumstance of every day to be brought before God in prayer. It intertwines God’s priorities with the realities of our lives instead of praying the words verbatim. In doing so, it guides the process of praying and keeps us on track.

If you’re looking for resources to take you deeper in your rhythms of prayer, here are some that we recommend;

The Apostle Paul encourages us often throughout the New Testament to give thanks as often as possible;

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. | 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. | Philippians 4:6-7

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. | Colossians 4:2

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We included the daily rhythm of ‘thankfulness’ as a way of practising what Paul encourages us in these verses. By developing this rhythm we not only become more aware of God’s love for us, but we also demonstrate love for him by being thankful in return.

There are a million opportunities to give thanks to God every day. If you’re looking for a place to start, we suggest noticing reasons to be thankful to God in these three areas of your life;

  1. Thankfulness for God’s Character and Promises: In the Scriptures we’re told that the character of God, as revealed in Jesus, is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Heb 13:8) and that all of God’s promises find their yes in Christ (2 Cor 1:20). This is the starting point for the practice of thankfulness, because we can always give thanks for these enduring truths about an eternally good and loving God.

  2. Thankfulness to God for His Gifts: God is the giver of all gifts (James 1:17) and he will never stop being the source of all that we receive. In response, we give him thanks for those gifts!

  3. Thankfulness for Glimpses of God’s Grace: This is an opportunity to notice specific moments where you see God working in your life in a way that is kind, generous, loving, merciful or compassionate. It could be big or small, profound or simple—the point is to pay attention to how God is pouring out his grace in your life and then to give thanks for that!

If you’re looking for resources to help you grow in your rhythms of thankfulness, two resources that we recommend reading are;

  • The Grumbler’s Guide to Giving Thanks: Reclaiming the Gifts of a Lost Spiritual Discipline, by Dustin Crowe

  • Spirituality of Gratitude: The Unexpected Blessings of Thankfulness, by Joshua Choonmin Kang

Thankfulness

Love for Others

Our love for God naturally leads to love for others.

This is why there is space each day to consider how you can intentionally love others in your life. Some days it may be difficult to find specific ways to love others—and other times there might be an abundance of opportunities. Either way, the purpose is to grow our desire for intentionally loving others in response to the love God has shown to us until it becomes an ingrained rhythm in our life.

There are a million different ways you could seek to show love to others—so there’s plenty of freedom to use this section in the journal as you see fit. Our heart behind including this section is simply to provide a prompt to look beyond your own life, because after spending time with God we should always be sent out to demonstrate the love of God toward others.

If you’re looking for resources to help you grow in your rhythms of loving others, two resources that we recommend reading are;

  • Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

  • Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World, by Rich Villodas