I know that people are constantly reminding you of the necessity of staying in God’s Word and spending time with the Lord in prayer—something we normally refer to as having devotions (because we are seeking to show our devotion to the Lord). I have had some ask me about various ideas for Bible-study and prayer, and I am always happy to help others out. But it occurred to me that those of you in the youth group could possibly be a help to each other in this area. Not only do you have the opportunity to share with others the things the Lord is teaching you, but you can also share ideas for studying the Bible, creating a prayer list, etc.
So, that being said, I wanted to make a post that you guys could add comments to with answers to some of the following questions: What are some things that you have specifically done during your devotions that you have found helpful for you? What books or other tools have been a blessing? Are there any particular studies that you have done that were especially enjoyable to you and that brought you closer to the Lord? What are some ideas that you have toyed with, but have not tried? (Maybe someone else has tried it, and can tell you about it.) How do you try to structure your prayer time?
The purpose for this is not to promote anyone’s own spirituality or the time they spend in devotions; rather, it is to help one another. I am actually interested in some of your ideas for my own sake, and I may occasionally throw in an idea or two myself. Keep building one another up, seeking to help each other see Christ better so that we might “remember Him” more than ever.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Like Billy said, I really like using a plan for reading the Bible. I don't actually use a one year Bible, I just have a paper with the schedule on it. I generally end up reading slower than the schedule says because I'll get "side-tracked" on little rabbit trails and study other things in my devotions, but it is still really good to for the most part be doing that every day.
As far as studies that have been helpful, I really like Jim Berg's Changed Into His Image, and Created for His Glory
I mentioned in the other post that I like doing a Biography of God, so I won't say all of the again. I keep my Biography of God on one side of a 5x7ish size 3 ring binder, and I keep my prayer journal on the other side. It works out very well because when I pray the Biography of God helps me praise God, and then I can just flip it and I have all my prayer requests.
One other little thing that I don't do as much as I should, but I've found very helpful, is the church bulletin. The themes that are in there for each week are extremely good, I find that when I take the time to read the verses on the theme the week before, that the worship service always means a lot more to me on Sunday. (it's also a great place to find things to add to a biography of God. :) )
Alright, enough from me. I'm excited to hear everyones ideas, this is a good topic.
As for Prayer, a great way to cover all the different things you'd like to pray about is to schedule. There is so much to pray about. Until you've tried it, it's hard to believe, but you could talk to God all day. We had a day of prayer here at school, and it was one of the best things I had done in a long time. But how to cover it all, specifically, is to pray for a different topic each day. Missionaries, your family, unsaved, your church, Etc. You can break it up as you like, but make sure you have your daily list too. The things like strength for your day, wisdom, Control of your tongue, or whatever. This has worked great for me. Dr. Olson (the president) gave us this idea. It's what he does, and he really likes it. This way you can cover much, without saying "Bless all the missionaries." It can still take you an easy hour to cover just one topic. Think of talking to one of your friends about all the things going on in your family. You could easily spend an hour doing just that. Especially if it was only once a week. God is way more important than a friend. Make time. Try half an hour. That's what Dr. Olson's idea was. It's called the "Take Ten" challenge. Ten minutes, three times a day. Like Daniel did. Know your God.
Post a Comment