DEVOTIONS PART 2.

How do I have quiet time?

• meet God—still your heart, ask for His presence. Concentrate. You may wish to praise Him with a psalm. Take a psalm and look for things in it for which to praise Him.
• listen to God by reading a passage from His Word.  Don’t choose more than a chapter.  Read it carefully, reverently, intelligently, and read it more than once….is there a promise to claim, a sin to confess, a command to obey, an example to follow, or an error to avoid?

• talk to God through prayer. Praise and thanksgiving… be specific.  Search your life in your mind for things. Thank and praise Him for them.   Requests for self and others…be specific. Confession… search your life for sins committed and asked for cleansing, then thank Him for His full forgiveness through Christ’s blood.

How do I get started?

• make a contract right now to begin a daily quiet time.  Be consistent in the time and place… start with 20 minutes. It should be unhurried and quiet. Morning is ideal.
• use a notebook.  Expect dry periods.. that’s no excuse for stopping.  Change your format or the book of the Bible you are reading… avoid stagnation. 
• share what you are learning in a quiet time with other Christians.  Get a hold of a good quiet time guide that will give you good ideas to include your time with God.

Use the ABC method

• first pray, second  read, third, study
• A…. Analyze… get just the basic facts
• B…Best verse… choose a verse that convicts you, inspires you, or enlightens you the most… meditate on it… look at it from different angles
• C…Contract…. apply the teaching by asking, Is there a new thought, promise, command, or pattern to follow? What is God telling me about this?…. and write out a specific plan for obeying the truth.
• Choose your best verse of the week and memorize it…