Keeping our minds stayed on God is incredibly essential to our daily walk with the Lord. In fact, we are called to do this in multiple places of scripture and it is one of the best ways to renew our minds.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2)
But how do we do set our minds on things above? In this article we are going to be covering 10 ways to do just that. Let’s get started.
#1: Avoid Consuming the Things of this World
This one may seem obvious but it is forgotten a lot of the time. We need to realize that everything we feed on throughout our day will eventually be thought about. The Bible says,
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).
We need to watch and guard what we digest throughout the day. If we want to be focused on the Lord we don’t have time to be sitting in front of the television, or playing a bunch of video games, or reading books that have nothing to do with the Lord. We need to be diligent to avoid everything that is contrary to truth.
Do you ever wonder why your mind wanders during prayer? Or why you can’t focus on God throughout the day? The number one reason is because there are times where we fail to only consume the things of God and not the things of the world.
#2: Read the Bible Consistently
The Word of God is an essential tool to stay focused on God. The last section I talked about avoiding the things of the world, in this section it’s about consuming the things of God. The Bible is God’s literal Word, and when we learn to incline our ear to it, it’ll be easier to hear.
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and your mind wandered from the conversation? Do you know why that happened? It’s because you weren’t paying attention to their words! You were caring about other things while they were talking.
Well, a good way to focus on God is by continually reading His Word. When we do that, it’ll be almost impossible to have our minds wander because His word will always be in front of us. (Related article: How to Start Reading the Bible).
So, we need to develop a habit where we read the Bible continually. Maybe instead of picking up your phone to scroll through Facebook, you pick up your phone to read through the Bible app. Little things like that can make a big difference in our walk with God.
#3: Spend Time with God in the Secret Place
“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6)
Spend time alone with God in secret prayer. This is where intimacy is formed. When you spend time with the Lord when no one is watching, and it’s just you and Him. This is where His heart becomes your heart, and His mind becomes your mind. Its the place where we get know Him, and the result is becoming more like HIm.
The Father wants you to Himself. This is why we are saved. The apostle Paul said the Gospel is the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Christ died on the cross to restore a relationship. Now, obviously He died because we sinned against a holy God, but that wasn’t the reason why Jesus came to save us. Christ had to die because we sinned, but God’s purpose in Christ dying was to restore us back to what we were originally created for. (Related article: What is the Gospel?).
God has invited us into a relationship with Him, and if we accept the invitation we will be fulfilling why we were created to begin with. If you and I learn to spend time with God in secret prayer, we will become more like Him, and the Spirit of God will give us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).
#4: Pray in the Spirit Continually
The Bible tells us to pray in the Spirit at all times.
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)
Praying in the Spirit is speaking in tongues.
“Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” (1 Corinthians 14:13-15)
So, we are to continually pray in tongues at all times. Now, if you know your Bible you know that it says that the mind is unfruitful when we speak in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:14)
Which is completely true. So how will this help us keep our minds stayed on God? Simple. If I am continually praying in the Spirit I am going to be continually aware of the Spirit. I may not understand what I’m saying to God (1 Corinthians 14:2), but I will understand that me and the Holy Spirit are cooperating in prayer.
Continually pray in tongues so that you can build yourself up and be conscious of God’s presence. (1 Corinthians 14:4)
#5: Thank God for Everything
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20)
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
As you can see from these verses we are to give thanks at all times, for everything.
Thanking God on a continual basis will make us appreciate everything that He has done for us, and it will keep our hearts fixed on who He is and that He is faithful.
The number reason people complain is because they don’t have their mind fixed on God, but more specifically they aren’t in a position of thankfulness.
Thanksgiving is the best way to stop complaining in our lives, and it is a great way to keep our minds stayed upon God.
Just think about all the stuff He has done for us. He has forgiven us from all of our sin, He has given us eternal life, He has filled us with His Spirit, He has given us His Word, He has given us a new family. The list can go on and on.
He has done so much for us, so thanking Him continually should be an easy task. If we can do this, not only will our minds be focused on the Lord, but we will become positive and more hopeful.
#6: Sing Praise Often
This one kind of goes with the tip above, but it still is helpful to mention.
The apostle Paul’s prayer life consisted of a lot of singing. There are many verses that mention this.
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:18-19)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16)
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:25)
There are more verse, but I think you get the point. Singing is a form of worship and thanksgiving. And as Ephesians 5 says it is a way to remained filled with the Spirit of God.
Singing to the Lord is a great way to maintain an attitude of worship throughout our day.
#7: Pray for People as Often as You Can
Another way is to intercede for people whenever you think of them.
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy.” (Phillipians 1:3-4)
This would be a good habit to cultivate in our lives. Whenever you meet someone new, pray for them. When you are driving to work start praying for the people in front of you and behind you. Pray for believers in the body of Christ whenever you think of them. Ask the Father to help them grow in a relationship with Him, and to open their eyes to the urgency of the Gospel.
People need prayer. There is a world dying and going to hell. There are believers who aren’t living their lives following Jesus. We need to cultivate a habit praying for people whenever we think of them.
#8: Spend Time with Born Again Believers
The Bible says that “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
Who we spend time with is extremely important . Spend time with people who encourage and challenge you to go after God. Develop conversations with these people that are beneficial, and that are centered around the Lord.
The more we spend time with people that love the Lord and have a desire for Him, the more we will become like them.
If you spend a lot of time with people that don’t know God and have no desire to know God, their bad company will corrupt your good character.
Now it’s important to note that I’m not saying that you should never spend time with unbelievers. That would be ridiculous. Rather I am saying that the people close to you and who you spend most of your time with should be believers that are following Jesus.
#9: Take Short Breaks to Focus on God
I heard a pastor once say that he likes to take short 5 minute breaks to just become aware of God. I like that. I think sometimes we get caught up in the busyness of life that we sometimes forget about God.
But if we learn to do what that pastor did and stop for a few moments, it’ll be much easier to remind ourselves of the Lord.
“However, the report went around concerning Him (Jesus) all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. (Luke 5:15-16)
We see Jesus doing the same thing in this passage. He had great crowds coming to be healed by Him, but He would withdraw often to go pray. Jesus protected His relationship with the Father from busyness, so should we.
#10: Do All Things Unto the Lord
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:17 & 23).
The apostle Paul tells us to do all things unto the Lord and not for people. We can take this command and apply it to our lives in a way that it causes us to be aware of God.
For example, let’s say you’re doing dishes. Instead of just doing the mundane chore of dishes, start the task by asking the Father to help you do it unto Him. Then while you clean, talk with Him and worship Him. After you get done with all the dishes thank Him for the help and that He was present with you.
I got this tip from a man called Brother Lawrence. He was a chef in the 17th century. He wrote a series of letters to believers to help them in continual communion with God. Those letters were collected and put in a book called Practicing the Presence of God.
