10. A Changing Appetite. My taste for spiritual things is changing. I find myself loving to study the Word of the Lord and looking forward to it. Far from it being a chore, it's literally fun.
Job said, "I have esteemed the words of Thy mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12).
At the same time this is happening, my thirst for a trashy novel, an entertainment magazine, a sexy movie or a television celebrity expose' is drying up. My appetite for spiritual junk food is diminishing. And that's a good thing!
9. A Disgust for the Shameful.
8. A Love for Believers.
7. An Unusual Peace and Quietness.
6. Your Strange Patience. Your love for people and your patience with them is becoming stronger and steadier. Sometimes it surprises you. You remember when crazy drivers, unloving people, and ungodly conditions in the world upset you.
As a result, you find yourself able to minister to people who do things displeasing to God. Just as surgeons and nurses in the operating room look past the tragedy of blood and brokenness to treat the patient, you find yourself more and more able to do something similar: you look past the shame and love the person. This enables you to serve in a homeless shelter, in the jail, in certain neighborhoods, in mission centers, all in love.
5. Your Joy and Laughter. This is a surprising development. You might have expected that becoming like Jesus would mean growing sterner, graver, more serious. And while part of you has deepened in that way, your spirit has sprouted wings. You are now able to soar higher--to laugh at trouble, to find joy in the simplest pleasures, to rejoice in Christ when nothing is going your way.
4. A New Generosity. You haven't given away all your money, nothing like that. But how you look at money is changing. It has become "a means to an end," and not the goal of anything. Money is a tool to be used to bless people for Christ's sake.
3. Joy in Anonymous Acts. They said of Jesus that He "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). That's the idea: leaving a trail of blessed people in your wake.
2. More Silence in Your Prayer Time. Good friends learn to enjoy silence with each other, without feeling the need to fill the vacuum with chatter. Let it be so with your prayer.
When asked a good way to pray, try three activities: read the Scripture, talk to the Lord a while, and then sit quietly. After a bit, read some more of the Word, talk to the Lord again, and then sit in silence for a while. Repeat for as long as you are able.
1. Unceasing Prayer. When asked how long you pray each day, you have no idea. You never stop talking to the Father.
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