Sitting by the potted plants on our balcony, I opened my Bible and read these verses. I had read the passage many times before, but today it seemed to call me to pay attention as it popped out of the page.

“Train yourself to be godly, godliness has value for all things, both for the present and the life to come.”

-1 Timothy 4:7b and 8b NIV

The phrase ‘train yourself’ called me to take immediate action, to plan, and to do something to draw closer to God.

Working out at the gym takes time, effort, consistency and willpower. It is the same with a godliness workout.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

James 4:8 NIV

As you read on I hope you will find something to incorporate into your godliness workout to draw near to God.

1. A quiet time routine

My father, Appa, loved hymns and used them as prayers. In his 70s, Appa bought himself a beautiful, black, upright piano and signed up to take piano lessons. He gave Mr. Alphonse, the tutor, a list of 10 hymns he wanted to play. Within a few months my dad progressed from learning notes and timing to playing hymns. It was his special time of praise and prayer.

This was one of his favorite hymns:

Take my life and let it be

Consecrated Lord to Thee

Take my moments and my days

Let them flow with ceaseless praise.

My dear mother-in-law Kamala Rajasingh had been a towering example to me by modeling the ‘quiet time’ routine. She would wake up at 4am and in the quiet of the night she would sit, pray, read the Bible, and sing songs of praise while the world (and all of us in the family) were sound asleep. When we stayed for a few months with them, I would come down at 6.30am to make my coffee. I would find her humming a tune and preparing breakfast and lunch for the family. Only later did I realize that her energy, joyful attitude, and hope filled personality were byproducts of her time with the Lord alone each morning.

Winnie, my friend in Auckland, is a church youth pastor. Winnie escapes for her quiet time with Jesus, in the evening after 10pm, when the day’s work is done. She loves writing letters to God. “Sometimes as I pause He overwhelms me with His peace, His peace and His sovereignty. It is the sweetest moment of the day for me” she says.

Kalpana makes a scrapbook of her verses with pictures, color, pattern and words in her quiet time. Mona writes down her prayers and Julie recites Psalm 23 and the Lord’s prayer each morning as she makes her coffee and starts her day. Young Kareena’s quiet time is in her bedroom with her guitar and songs of praise.

2. Simple practices in godliness.

·   On some days, I like to light a candle. This is something I saw our pastor Clare doing, and it reminds me that God is near and it quiets my heart.

·   Ranjan removes His shoes at church and at prayer times. I am reminded of Moses at the burning bush and the holiness of God.

 ·   In India it is a custom to cover our heads with the sari or scarf (dupatta) at church. It helps to focus on God and not to worry about your hair or your clothes!

·   My grandma used to read the Bible to me as she and I knelt by her bedside. Growing up in Chennai, during our family prayer, we knelt down in the lounge to pray as a family.

A picture of Jesus kneeling at Gethsemane hung in my father’s consulting room. For him, a busy GP, it reminded him of Jesus’s humility and also that he was doing his work with God’s help.

3. Giving to God

A loving old neighbor, who could not come to our wedding, visited us with a small steel box the day after. He had the word ‘tithe’ engraved on the box. He explained to us that we had to give to God intentionally and regularly. 

I am grateful to God for him, for starting Ranjit and me on this journey. As we set aside money to give to God, he shows us the need around us.

Giving of our time and resources to God is something we should do prayerfully, intentionally and regularly.

Discussion

As you were reading, was there something which God highlighted for you?

Is there one thing you could start doing, or something you could give up?

Is there one practice you could begin today?