Going through seminary, students are taught to study the Bible and uphold its doctrines about God while also being encouraged not to neglect their devotional times with God. Yet during my own devotional time I, and probably many others, often asked myself, “Is this the best way to grow spiritually, or is there a better way? What could I do differently? Should I incorporate my studies with my devotions?”
In this series I ask a different scholar two questions about how he or she spends time with the Lord and continues to love him with all their mind, strength, and heart. Since no one method or style is “the only way,” we can draw on one another’s experiences.
This week I have asked Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla if he would share his thoughts with us.
1. How do you spend your devotional time with the Lord?
As a single guy (single—by choice, for life, unto Christ, in community), and one who is not necessarily gregarious in orientation—I’m pretty content being by myself—my “devotional time with the Lord” encompasses everything I do when I’m alone. That means my major engagements in solitude, writing, listening to Bach, watching cricket, reading, napping, etc., (and even during my travels, always undertaken alone) are done very consciously with the presence of God preeminent in my mind. I try to be in conversation with him all throughout my day (except, of course, when I’m in class, or clinic, or church, or other public activities).
But to your question, for which I guess you want a more specific answer, I engage in lectio divina (reading devotionally) of the Psalter. Having just completed a three-volume, 1000-page commentary on the Psalms, that’s what I’ve been doing for the last several years: reading a psalm without any academic intrusion of parsing, or side-referencing, or checking translations, or seeking the wisdom of other commentaries. It helps that I translated all 150 psalms myself, and I submerge myself in those songs daily.
And prayer. I have prayed with a comprehensive prayer list for the last several decades and I follow that daily, adding to (or subtracting from) it as I see fit. A new year’s list is created every Thanksgiving. (It is also wonderful to scan lists from prior years to comprehend how God has been working in my life. Just terrific!)
2. How do you practically seek to deepen your love for Christ?
My easy answer is that I seek to “deepen my love for Christ” by solitude, writing, listening to Bach, watching cricket, reading, napping, traveling, etc. But the more difficult answer is that it is God’s word that is slowly shaping and molding me into the image of Christ. Proactively, whenever I preach, I seek to give my listeners a specific, concrete, first step towards accomplishing the call of the text. And, invariably, I myself engage in that activity even before I preach that passage. (I tell my preaching students that doing those applications is one way to discover specific application that is creative, concrete, and compelling, which can then be shared with others.
Participating in the activities of my local church, though that is somewhat limited because of my travels and other engagements out of town.
Engaging in the spiritual disciplines is key for me. Celibacy, solitude, silence, prayer, study of Scripture, are, of course, a given for me. Giving is another I have worked hard to cultivate as a discipline. As well, preaching and exhorting whenever I have the opportunity, and being on the lookout for opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers.
All of these activities, facilitate my “knowing” the love of Christ that “surpasses knowledge”!
Abraham Kuruvilla is Professor of Christian Preaching at SBTS. He has written theological commentaries on Genesis, Judges, Mark, Ephesians, Timothy and Titus, and now Psalms (1–44 so far). You can find him writing at Homiletix.
Thank you, Dr. Kuruvilla!
Other Scholars’ Devotions
- Andrew Abernethy
- Holly Beers
- Michael Bird
- Richard Blaylock
- Craig Blomberg
- Darrell Bock
- Gerry Breshears
- Denny Burk
- Mitch Chase
- Andrew Das
- Stephen Dempster
- Jason DeRouchie
- Kyle Dunham
- James Edwards
- Rebekah Eklund
- Matthew Emerson
- David Firth
- Stephen Fowl
- Norman Geisler
- Benjamin Gladd
- Michael Gorman
- Joel Green
- Sigurd Grindheim
- Robert Gundry
- Nijay Gupta
- Jim Hamilton
- Matthew Harmon
- Matthew Haste
- Michael Haykin
- Charles Lee Irons
- Dru Johnson
- Dru Johnson (Extended Edition)
- Kenneth Keathley
- Craig Keener
- Edward (Mickey) Klink
- Melissa Kruger
- Darian Lockett
- Tremper Longman
- Ernest Lucas
- Ken Magnuson
- J. Keith McKinley
- Scot McKnight
- David Moffitt
- Jonathan Moo
- Jeffrey Niehaus
- B. J. Oropeza
- Amy Peeler
- Nicholas Perrin
- Madison Pierce
- Karen Swallow Prior
- Patrick Schreiner
- Tom Schreiner
- Brandon Smith
- Aida Besancon Spencer
- Douglas Stuart
- Frank Thielman
- Robert Wall
- Bruce Ware
- Rikk Watts
- Trevin Wax
- Greg Welty
- Cynthia Long Westfall
- Ben Witherington
- Kevin Youngblood
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