Many people now have more time on their hands because of the lockdown. This is a great opportunity and GIFT FROM GOD to achieve some things that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. God is wanting us to build identity in Him, outside of work and ministry, and to prepare us for what He is planning. These 5 things to do in lockdown plug into this. If you like these ideas please pass on the blog using the buttons below. Thank you.

1.Pray 10 minutes a day for an unreached people group

Once a member of a Baptist church told his testimony of how he decided to pray for an unreached people group (UPG) for 10 minutes while he shaved every day! A UPG is a people that doesn’t have a church yet that can share the Good News with them. It may seem very small, only 10 mins but it is roughly an hour per week and an incredible 50 hours in a year.

He made contact with missionaries working amongst his chosen UPG, to pray specifically for them. After 10 years a church was planted there and he later visited the church, the fruit of his prayers!

See also CORONAVIRUS AND THE BIBLE: WHAT’S GOD DOING? which shows how this fits in with God’s plans.

2.Learn a new language

This is great for visiting new countries that speak this language or as preparation to do God’s work in a country. I am learning SPANISH at the moment during the lockdown. I use mostly apps and YouTube videos and watch a few film clips or short documentaries in Spanish.

Then I sought someone to speak Spanish with online. I contacted the brother of a friend and we do a language swap. We speak half the time in English and half in Spanish. It’s a fun lockdown thing to do and I am gaining fluency.

3.Read the whole Bible in six months

One of my favourite lockdown things to do. This will impact all aspects of our life. To succeed you need to read 8-10 chapters per day or 5-6 chapters on weekdays and catch up the rest at weekends. It’s definitely do-able. Just needs the self-discipline and consistent reading. Now is the time! You might not get it again.

A friend of mine reads 26 chapters of the Bible every day and has done so since 16 years old! I am not there yet (hahaha) but it’s good to push our limits. If we succeed now in the lockdown it might just become a habit! The new normal, yes?!

4.Pray for whole HOUSEHOLDS to come to the Lord

The Old and New Testaments focus on whole households following the Lord not just individuals. For example:

• Abraham, “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (Gen 18:19)
• Lydia, “When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home.” (Acts 16:15)
• The Philippian jailer. Paul and Silas told him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)

So during these testing times, when people are more open to praying, it’s a great opportunity to pray for whole households that we know to come to know Jesus.

Dwight Moody, the famous American preacher, was also a man of prayer. He wrote a list of 100 people he knew that didn’t know Jesus and prayed for them to encounter HIm. During his lifetime 96 came to know Christ and the last 4 did so at his funeral!

5.Read a book of the history of Revivals

The great preacher Dr Martyn Lloyd–Jones said that the best tonic for his soul was the history of revival. He should know, as he was a medical doctor and a Pastor who cared for souls. As a result of this tonic he became an expert in revivals! In my opinion, there is no greater way to stir our hearts afresh with more thirst for the Lord and the things of God than the reading of stories from revivals. Also it stirs us to pray for a mighty revival after lockdowns have ended.

The best short read on the history of revival is “Great Revivals” by Colin Whittaker.

See blog FIVE OUTSTANDING BOOKS ON CHRISTIAN REVIVAL for a book review.

I have chosen to study the revivals that happened during the Reformation period of Christianity. It has been a great revelation for me and totally inspiring. This is a wonderful lockdown thing to do.

Also I have written an e-book devotional GRACE OUTPOURINGS: 21 DAYS REVIVAL DEVOTIONAL  which is perfect if you want to read about a revival, a relevant Bible text and a Scriptural prayer every day for 21 days.

If you have some other great ideas to do during lockdown please add in the blog comments. Thanks.