How do you stay spiritually alert?
There are several Bible passages in which we're forewarned that Jesus' return will take us by surprise. We're urged to therefore live in 'spiritual alertness'. Here is just one of those passages:
"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those servants.
"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Luke 12:35-40)
Being spiritually alert includes living intentionally. It involves repeatedly reordering your life around what matters most. It also includes paying regular attention to your spiritual life and to your spiritual condition.
Does your spiritual life get 'broken into' easily? Do you sometimes 'relax' your Christian living? What can you do to help guard against these things?
Many Christians find that frequent short reviews of their life help them to stay on track. Some Christians set aside a day or half day each month to be alone with God. During some of this time they might 'take stock' of their spiritual life and how they've been living.
Many Christians find it helpful to very briefly 'take stock' each night. They look back over the day with God, thanking God, noticing where God was in the events of the day, asking for forgiveness and help, learning from mistakes and working out what changes might be helpful for tomorrow... (this 5-10min prayer exercise is called a "daily examen").
Some Christians find it very helpful to do a little spiritual review each weekend. It can be useful to use a passage such as the ten commandments as a guide.
Does a weekend spiritual review sound like something you might like to experiment with as a way of staying on track and staying alert spiritually?
There are other forms of staying alert too. Meeting up with an older Christian or accountability partner, writing in a journal, going to confession, reading or listening to Christian teaching that encourages and motivates you... What kinds of things help you to stay spiritually alert?