1. Jesus Callling by Sarah Young....I start my time out reading the thought for the day in this. It is short and written as if Jesus was talking to you. It is a wonderful way to focus my attention on Him and bring my thoughts to Him.
2. The One Year Through the Bible Devotional (published by Tyndale)....It has the Bible divided into sections to read, and it has a devotional thought to go along with it. I love this because sometimes (especially in the Old Testament...especially in the who begat whom sections) I tend to kinda skim. This devotional suggests parts to focus on and helps me think about the passages with background on it or thought provoking questions about it or ways it can apply to me today.
3. The Bible. Obviously. I use the New American Standard version. It's a word for word translation (instead of thought for thought like some, such as the New International Version). I like the NAS because it's accurate and easy to read and understand.
4. Journal....I have journaled off and on, but I am trying it again. I am writing down anything God teaches me as I read. I am writing down things that stick out to me. Questions I have. What I'm praying for. Sometimes it's long, sometimes it's one sentence. One of my biggest problems in my spiritual walk is that I can get legalistic. I'm not setting up any rules for myself in this journal. Just write down what I feel like I need to write down! But it's important to keep me focused and not let my mind wander.
5. Prayer time....this is another component I have struggled with in focus. Right now I'm going through the Louisiana Baptist's 21 Day Prayer Journal. I am liking that in that it gives me Scripture to pray about and helps focus my prayer time. I am also enjoying the journalling part of this...sometimes I write my whole prayer and sometimes I write down bullet points.
That's what my quiet time is composed of. I am also going through (for the 2nd time) the Bible Study "Satisfy our Souls...a Cry from the Desert" by Frances Worthington. I do this at a different time than my quiet time because I don't want to let this take the place of my quiet time. So I do it after everyone is in bed at night on the nights when I can.
I love this study because I can relate SO much to it. Her paragraph on the back of the book says "Do you find yourself thriving in mountain-top experiences only to plunge into barren, arid desert reality that chokes out your joy? Your shoes are full of sand and your heart is dried out. You're gritty and grumbling and wondering why this keeps happening."
YES!! It's all about learning to let God satisfy our souls "as with the richest of foods." Psalm 63:5
Well, this is what I'm doing. I am feeling really excited about my own revived time with God. I hope you will make time for Him, too!
What does your devotional time consist of? Any suggestions for me??
5 comments:
Thanks for the recs! I would really like to check out the "Jesus Calling". I'll have to add that to my list :)
I've also heard great things about Jesus Calling! Makes me want to check it out.
Last year I used Experiencing God Day by Day. It was awesome. This year Raymond got me a devotional book by AW Tozer. I love it. He is my favorite nonfiction Christian author.
I LOVE Jesus Calling! I am doing it this year too! Today's devotion was amazing...God spoke so much to me through it!!!
I love "Jesus Calling"- it has spoken to me so much this past year.
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