Rebuilding Your Attention Span
Slow reading as a spiritual practice.
On learning to stay with one thing.
The big idea
You have not lost the ability to focus. You have trained against it, and training runs both ways.
Opening scripture
“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
What does “Rebuilding Your Attention Span” walk through?
A Lamp For The Next Step
Psalms 119:105 · KJV
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
In plain English
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.
A Lamp, Not A Floodlight
A lamp at your feet shows the next step, not the whole road. Scripture rarely gives you everything at once, which means reading it rewards staying rather than skimming.
Living And Active
Hebrews 4:12 · KJV
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
In plain English
God's word is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts deep enough to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
“You cannot skim something that is meant to read you back.”
One Thing Is Needed
Luke 10:42 · KJV
But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
In plain English
Only one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen it. It will not be taken from her.
Martha Was Not Lazy
Martha's problem was not idleness — it was that she was doing many things and Mary was doing one. Depth is almost always a subtraction.
Keep It Somewhere Deep
Psalms 119:11 · KJV
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
In plain English
I have stored up your word in my heart, so that I might not sin against you.
Pray
God, retrain me to stay. Give me patience with one page. Amen.
Write it down
What is one thing you could read slowly this week?
Stay with one page
Read less. Stay longer.
Which passages does this journey use?
4 passages, drawn from Psalms 119:105, Hebrews 4:12, Luke 10:42, Psalms 119:11. Every verse appears here in the King James text with a plain-English line beside it, so you can read it without a commentary open. Allow about 7 minutes for the whole thing, or 8 short sittings.
- Psalms 119:105
- Hebrews 4:12
- Luke 10:42
- Psalms 119:11
Read any of these in full on the complete KJV, or look the wording up independently at Blue Letter Bible.
More in Your Phone and Your Soul
All Your Phone and Your Soul →The Attention Diet
What you feed your mind becomes your life.
What Scrolling Costs You
Counting the price of an ordinary hour.
Digital Sabbath
Practising a day that does not need you.
Your Phone And Your Prayer Life
The first thing you reach for.
The First Five Minutes Awake
How a day gets its direction.
Curating What You Consume
You are allowed to close things.