Girlfriends in God - Oct. 1, 2012
October 1, 2012
De-compartmentalize Your Quiet Time
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long, - (Psalm 119:97 NIV).
Friend to Friend
I love, absolutely love, studying God’s Word. From the time I first said “yes” to Jesus, I have devoured the Scriptures. And yet, I’ll admit, extended times of prayer have been a struggle for me. Perhaps that is one reason it is called a discipline. I have to discipline myself to set the time apart—to “be still and know.”
But then I began to realize just how compartmentalized my time with God had become. My spiritual life was more like an outlined lesson plan with sub-headings A, B, C, and 1, 2, 3 than a love relationship with Jesus. So I made a change. It was God’s suggestion really. Why not pray and read at the same time?
When I read the Bible, I pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal what the words say, what they mean, and how I can apply them to my life. For example, one day while reading Ephesians 1:8, I felt compelled to pray this verse for several people. So I stopped reading and began communing with God in prayer.
Dear Lord, I pray for Steven today. I pray that You will open the eyes of his heart so that he may see the hope to which You have called him and the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints… I prayed that Scripture for several people, until I felt the promptings from the Holy Spirit cease. Then God and I got back to reading again.
Another day, I was reading Matthew 6:9, what we’ve come to know as The Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father,” Jesus began. Stop right there and think about that, the Holy Spirit seemed to say. Our Father. As I ruminated and marinated in the words “our” and “father” God spoke to my heart about the sort of father I’d always longed for and the sort of Father I already had in Him. If I had stuck to a schedule for my Bible reading that week, I would have fallen terribly behind. But the continual conversation I had with God about that one little word, “father,” was priceless.
Consider the word meditate. This word often conjures up images of Eastern religious practices. But it is a wonderful word that we should not be afraid to use. Meditation simply means to think deeply and continuously about something. For a Christian, meditation and constant communication go hand in hand. As we think deeply and continuously about God’s Word, He opens our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our minds to understand. When you meditate on Scripture, you mull over God’s words in your mind until they move from your head to your heart.
So here’s my suggestion…pray and read…at the same time. I’ve decided that when I read God’s Word, I’m going to keep the lines of communication open. After all, this is the only book you will ever read where the Author is right there with you every time you open the pages!
Let’s Pray
Good morning Lord! I can’t wait to experience this day with You. I’m so glad that Jesus is in me and I am in Him. We’re in this thing called life together. Help me practice Acts 17:28 today…In him we live and move and have our being – in him we exist.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Read Ephesians Chapter 1 and pray various Scriptures over the people God brings to mind. Don’t stop until God’s promptings stop.
If you accepted this challenge, let’s celebrate together. Simply leave a comment on my blog post, www.sharonjaynes.com, that says,” I did it. It was fun.” And if you have time, tell me a little bit about what you experienced as you prayed.
More from the Girlfriends
This whole idea of de-compartmentalizing our lives is found in A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More.Learn how to erase the line between your secular daily life and your spiritual live so that you can experience the Divine smack dab in the middle of the Daily busy blur. Check it out! And for all you pinners on Pinterest, I’ve got a great pin graphic on today’s blog post as well.
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