At the beginning of each session:
God is present with us. As a way for us to be also present with Him, take the next few moments to slow down and be still before Him. As you begin to focus your heart towards the Lord, breathe in deeply, slowly letting it out.
If your mind wanders, silently pray a simple prayer again and again, such as, "I surrender to your love" or "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me" until the Holy Spirit gives you a sense of peace and focus.
Reading:
Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider:
In your life, what encumbrance or sin might be entangling you?
Picture the great cloud of witnesses surrounding you.
Picture yourself, in your life, in the race that God has asked you to run.
What would it look like for you to be focusing your eyes on Jesus?
God is the author and perfecter of our faith.
Jesus, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross.
Eugene Peterson wrote,
“When Jesus suffered on the cross, He connected the worst humans do with the best God does, for the cross on which Christ died is also the place of resurrection. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and you’ll find that the place you thought was death is the very place where the resurrection power of God is at work to bring you life.” (Conversations: The Message Bible With It’s Translator, Eugene Peterson, p1905)
At the end of each session:
Take a moment to thank God for the work He is doing in you.
As you go from this time, may your heart and your mind continue to relate to God, fixing your eyes on Jesus through each step of your day. Amen.