This week’s assignment is designed to be completed slowly and prayerfully. Use the PRAY framework below as a guide. The goal is not to rush or read ahead, but to remain present with the readings assigned for this week.

P Pause

Begin by slowing down. Set aside distractions and take a few quiet moments to become present before God. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your time in Scripture and reflection.

You may begin with a simple prayer such as:

“Lord, help me to listen, receive, and respond with honesty and openness.”

R Read

Read 2 Peter 1:3–11.

Read the passage slowly and attentively. You may wish to read it more than once. Pay attention to the qualities Peter names and how they describe growth in a life shaped by Christ. Allow the text to speak before moving toward analysis or application.

Look Ahead Reading for next week

Mark 12:28–34

A Attend

As you read, notice what is happening within you.

What words or phrases stand out

Where do you feel encouraged or challenged

What questions or longings surface

Reflection Question

What is your current spiritual state and where do you sense a desire or invitation to grow

It is okay if the answer feels unclear or incomplete

You may find it helpful to journal your reflections or sit quietly with them in prayer.

Y Yield

Offer what you have noticed to God. Bring your insights, questions, doubts, and hopes before Him. Ask God to shape your heart and guide your growth through this process.

Reading Expectations

Please do not read far ahead. Stay with the readings assigned for the week and allow them time to work on you. Spiritual growth often comes through slow attention rather than speed.

When reading Spiritual Classics you may not agree with everything you encounter and that is okay. We encourage you to think critically and engage thoughtfully. Test what you read against Scripture. Hold onto what is helpful and as the saying goes chew on it and spit out the bone. Our goal is not agreement with every author but growth into the likeness of Christ.

Key Passage: Mark 12:28–34

Then reread verses 30–31, pausing after each phrase:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

With all your soul

With all your mind

With all your strength

Love your neighbor as yourself

Let the words sit before moving on.

Heart, Soul, Mind, Strength

Use the following as guiding categories. These overlap; the goal is awareness, not perfection.

Heart – desires, loves, motives, longings

Soul – inner life, spiritual vitality, closeness with God

Mind – thoughts, beliefs, attention, understanding

Strength – actions, habits, discipline, consistency

Rank yourself (1–10) in each area:

Briefly reflect:

Where do you feel strongest right now?

Where do you feel weakest or most invited to grow?

Book Work: Sorting the Disciplines

Open your book and look at the table of contents. For each discipline or section, decide which category it best fits under:

Heart

Soul

Mind

Strength

Some may overlap, choose the primary category. Notice which areas you naturally gravitate toward and which you tend to neglect.

Loving Your Neighbor

Pick three practices or disciplines from those contents you can do that will help you love your neighbor well. Be specific and realistic. Write them down.

A Needed Turn

Now choose three that others could do for you that help you feel genuinely loved. write those down.

This is an exercise in honesty and humility. We often hope to be loved in specific ways but never name them.

Reflect:

Do I offer love to others in the same way I hope to receive it?

The real list is probably your list with how you want to be loved. We tend to treat others the way we want to be treated.

Reading for the Week

Read Thomas Moore, pages 5–9.

Read slowly and reflect

In A Godly Meditation, Thomas More creates space for honest reflection about our relationship with God. Rather than laying out strict steps, he invites us to notice what’s happening in our hearts, how we experience God, how we approach prayer, and what we truly long for. There’s a sense of freedom here, even playfulness, as if the goal is not perfection but attentiveness.

More raises an important tension: God is the source of all life, yet it’s easy to become turned inward. His writing gently asks whether our spiritual lives feel more like self-examination or genuine connection. This echoes later writers like John Donne, who also wrestle with what it means to know God personally rather than simply think about Him. The bridesmaid analogy often found in scripture invites a deeper question: When you think about God, do you feel more inclined to ask questions—or to draw near? It’s not meant to pressure an answer, but to help us notice where our desire actually sits.

Private prayer and meditation appear as moments to pause and pay attention. Rather than adding another task, they invite us to notice what already fills our focus and how God fits into that space.

Group Reflection Questions:

How did this meditation make you feel as you read or listened?

Where do you notice your attention going most days?

When you think about God, what emotions come up first?

Does the idea of quiet, private prayer feel inviting, uncomfortable, or neutral?

What might it look like to make space for God this week, without forcing it?

This Week’s Practice:

To keep reflecting on these questions, we’ll be sharing a Private Prayer handout below. There’s no expectation, just an invitation to notice what comes up as you spend a little intentional time with God.