Keep Your Soul Diligently
If we stop praying long enough, we can experience spiritual atrophy and revert back to a weak spiritual state.
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses instructed the Israelites to "keep [their souls] diligently" (Deut. 4:9 ESV). We should expect that shaping and growing our souls takes hard work. It takes intentional and diligent effort enabled by the Spirit to keep our souls in a proper state of being. So, our times with the Lord will necessarily be very hard but very rewarding work. We shouldn't be surprised by that. That's another reason why we should spend appropriate amounts of time with the Lord each and every day. Can we really consider a few minutes of prayer here and there as being diligent? Can praying once in a while or every so often be considered diligent enough? Where's the intentionality, the effort, and the hard work?
Moses went on to tell the Israelites why it was important for them to keep their souls diligently. He continued, "Lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life" (Deut. 4:9 ESV). There were certain things that God had revealed to the Israelites—their very own eyes had witnessed it. And if they don't keep their souls diligently, Moses said that they could possibly forget these things that God had revealed. The most likely outcome would be that they would eventually stray away from worshiping and following God. Our times of prayer and meditation (keeping our souls diligently) help us to remember the things that God has revealed to us. This includes all the things that He has done for us in the past and all the things that He has taught us.
We can be forgetful people and we need to keep God's will and desires at the forefront of our minds, hearts, and souls. Prayer helps us do that. It helps us keep all that we've received from God fresh in our minds. It also helps us retain all the progress we've made in our spiritual lives. The end of the statement from Moses is interesting to ponder upon: "Lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life" (Deut. 4:9 ESV). Something was present in the hearts of the Israelites and it could eventually depart from them should they neglect keeping their souls diligently. Apparently, it's possible for us to lose the gains that we've made in our spiritual lives—for it to depart from our hearts. One of the best ways to retain the spiritual gains that we've made is to keep our souls diligently—to keep praying and meditating and not to stop.
In order for bodybuilders to keep their gains—the muscles they've developed and the physiques they've acquired—they need to be diligent in going to the gym and working out almost every day. They can't stop without suffering some consequences to the gains that they have made. This diligence is vital or they could lose their progress. In fact, if a bodybuilder skips working out long enough, they might experience muscular atrophy where the muscle reverts back to what it used to be and they would lose the physical form that they've been tirelessly building. Their strength will literally depart from them. Therefore, it's important for bodybuilders to keep up their disciplined workout regimen in order to retain their gains. You could say they would be "keeping their bodies diligently." It's the same with our spiritual lives. If we stop praying long enough, we can experience spiritual atrophy and revert back to a weak spiritual state. The spiritual progress we've made over time can depart from us. That's why it's necessary to be diligent with growing our souls through prayer and meditation so we don't lose those spiritual gains. Instead, we will want to build upon our spiritual successes so that we can go even further in our walk with Christ.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
