— 22nd of Ab, 179 JE —
I highly recommend listening to Brother Lawrence’s praying without ceasing experience from the 1600’s. (If you prefer to read than listen, you can do so on Project Gutenberg.)
Though Lawrence was in a monastery, he recommended violating many of the monastic principles. His main message was to do everything solely for God out of love in prayer, and that there is no greater joy.
I am writing because I am very concerned about how the free use of the internet has destroyed our spiritual life. How can we practice being aware of the presence of GOD in communion with Him when we are going from one thing to the next online or watching videos?
I believe that Satan has been behind the formation of the internet as we know it today. This technology has only been around for three decades. It is not natural, just like radio and television, but worse. It is not normal to human civilization, except for this recent span of time.
We are supposed to be praying about everything we are doing—offering up in prayer what we are doing to GOD that we may only serve Him in it, supplicating for His help, and giving Him thanks (see Phil. 4:6-7). Without this communion with GOD, we are not safe, but are lost, since we cannot depend on ourselves for one moment.
Now, am I recommending to get rid of internet? Not necessarily. I will keep mine. But I am now extremely strict with it. I think we all need to be. Internet is a great privilege and it is perilous. Not only is there very addictive, evil material on it everywhere, just a click away, but there is so much varying, distracting content, including Christian and Adventist content.
You will need to prayerfully develop your own way of maintaining your connection with GOD while online, but below is what I have developed personally, after putting much thought and prayer into it, and I believe it would greatly benefit anyone.
- – Absolutely no notifications.
- – Always leave phone on airplane mode, unless in emergency
(not only phones are very distracting but emit lots of harmful radiation, just with the network connection being on) - – No scrolling through social media feeds
- – Praying before going to a new website and consecrating each internet activity to GOD, doing it only for His glory, even if just checking the weather
(like how Br. Lawrence would even pick up of a straw or peel a potato to the glory GOD) - – If a website has a potential for evil content, call on the Name of the LORD JEHOSHUA, and name the exact website you are going to in prayer
- – If doing a search, call on the Name of the LORD JEHOSHUA and inquire of GOD of what the search is first, even if just asking AI a question, lest AI and Google become gods
- – If watching a video or listening to a podcast, have a prayer first, just as should be done in an in-person sermon or seminar, and then periodically pause to pray about the content, and pray afterward
- – Never do an activity for mere entertainment or curiosity, whether it be playing a game, watching an entertaining video such as a funny animal or anything else to create a laugh
(This falls into the territory of idleness of speech or activity, which we will be judged for, according to Matt. 12:36) - – Do not work at a fast-paced computer job where there is not time to pray between pages or tasks
(Even if pay is less, it is better to do agricultural labor, work a manual trade, or do something of service, in an environment free of worldly music if at all possible)
I will admit that this is very, very strict and takes a lot of discipline, but is a plan like this necessary to maintain a genuine spiritual life? I believe it is. How can we guard the most important commandment, to love GOD with all our heart, mind, body, and soul, if we are not practicing bringing Him into everything? It is impossible. He must be in everything we are doing, even the smallest activities such as checking a page for a brief moment.
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
Luke 16:10
I believe if we are not willing to put such discipline into our internet use, then we should just get rid of it and count it as plucking out an eye or cutting of a hand or foot. Our SAVIOUR used these illustrations on purpose—we are not to shy away even from painful, debilitating sacrifices in order to win heaven!
However, if we choose to keep internet, then, as long as we maintain such strict habits, it will benefit us in the rest of our life. What I mean by this is that normal, everyday life offline is generally not packed with so many activities in a short time, like internet usage generally is. It forces us to pray very frequently in order to pray for each internet activity as I have described. We can actually come further ahead through our internet usage than we would otherwise, which is a good thing in the perilous times we are living in. I believe the internet can be used for much good, particularly for missionary purposes.
One thing I have learned that is key is to slow down! It may be tempting to rush through prayers when online and click things while we are still mentally uttering a prayer. This rushing through prayer in general concerns me. So often before and after sermons prayer is rushed through so that there is no time for silent reflection and at the end there is a a one-second “inJsusnamen.” This is offensive to GOD, yet we have accepted it because it is normalized.
I’ve also been reflecting on normalization recently, and what is so bad about it is that it deceives us. What we observe frequently becomes the new normal. And this is the satanic idea behind media. Through various mediums, sin becomes normalized. We no longer see things as exceedingly sinful. This is perilous, and it is the same concept behind human creeds. If something is written in an official statement or creed, it becomes normalized and the masses casually accept it.
Likewise, it becomes normal just to sit down in front of a computer just like any worldly person would do, going from one page to the next, even reading religious or doctrinal material, without any relational thought of GOD; and, friends, this is what really concerns me. Because it is normal behavior in this modern society, it is acceptable to us. But it should never be acceptable! Without spiritually breathing by continually communion with GOD, we are dead! How many of us are dead!
Oh, friends, it is time for a revival! Please practice the revival plan. The experience of praying without ceasing, primed each day through a long personal devotion with more prayer than reading, is the bulk of this plan. And, by the way, GOD taught me an object lesson yesterday. When I first took a pen and started writing, it did not work well. But when I squiggled a bit, the pen was primed. Likewise, we need to prime every activity we do, online or offline, in prayer; then continual prayer will freely flow as we practice it. I think the biggest reason we don’t have the praying without ceasing experience is we do not even begin an activity in prayer; but once we do, our thoughts of adoration and obedience can be on GOD, which is prayer, along with words petition and praise sprinkled here and there during the activity.
Remember:
And this is the life eternal: that they should know Thee, the only true GOD, and whom Thou hast sent, JEHOSHUA the MESSIAH.
John 17:3
