Speechpaths: How We Grow Closer to God

Oneness with God lies along a path of speech.

One with God has had a great launch this week, and I wanted to leave you with something at the heart of the book. It’s answer to the question, “How do we cultivate oneness with God?” The answer is what I develop and illustrate below: speechpaths.

What is a speechpath? A speechpath is a trail of communication and response between God and his creatures. It has three major movements: God’s Word, prayer, and obedience.

God’s Word

We start by reading God’s word—such as many Christians do as part of their morning or evening routine. But we do this knowing that all of Scripture is about Christ. That makes it easier for us to focus on being one with him in our reading (John 17:11, 21). No matter where you are in Scripture—whether it be a bizarre dietary food law in Leviticus or a puzzling parable from the gospels—the passage you’re looking at is fulfilled in the person and work of Christ.

But then where do we go? Well, Edmund Clowney in his book Christian Meditation offered three stages of our reading any given passage. First, we should be centered on the truth. That means we’re focused on what the passage means in relation to Christ, where it fits in redemptive history, and how it applies to us today.

Second, we should be moved by love. A godly reading of Scripture always leads us deeper into love with the divine Author. We often miss that connection, assuming that Bible reading is primarily meant to give us “information” or “knowledge.” We miss everything if we read God’s Word and don’t fall deeper in love with him as a result.

Third, our meditation on God’s Word should be directed to praise. Worship is the final stage of Scripture reading, and it flows naturally from a deeper love of God. So, that’s the first movement in our speechpath: a Christ-centered reading of Scripture that is centered on the truth, moved by love, and directed to praise.

Prayer

But the path goes on. Scripture is God’s speech to us, but prayer is our opportunity to speak back to him. Of the many things that Scripture says about prayer, I chose to focus on four actions we can take with our prayers: rejoicing, speaking throughout the day (not restricting prayer to something you say in the morning or just before a meal), giving thanks, and listening. Each of these components can easily tie to a passage we read in the first movement (God’s Word).

Prayer is, for many Christians, a lost habit. And we’re feeling the effects of it, aren’t we? I’m not here to guilt-trip. I struggle, too. It will take Spirit-driven, intentional effort to make prayer a more pervasive habit. The more the habit grows, the deeper will be our love for God, our joy in the gospel, and our hope in the resurrection.

Obedience

However, we don’t just read God’s Word, pray, and then walk away. A speechpath ends with our obedience. Jesus says those who love God follow his commands (John 14:21). Doing is a fitting response to reading and praying.

If you’d like some examples, check out One with God for yourself. Below is the diagram I offer from the book.

The important thing to note is that we develop these speechpaths everyday. That’s a challenge, since it can be easier to choose just one movement (usually reading the Bible or praying). And we all struggle. The best course of action to take is simply to ask the Spirit of God to help you communicate with him more consistently, and thus bring you deeper into fellowship with the Trinity. God’s grace in the Spirit will always be the thing responsible for your deepening communion with him.

So, there you have it: read, pray, obey. That’s a speechpath. I wonder where you’ll walk tomorrow . . .

---

Check out One with God to dive deeper.