I am reminded of a story of two friends, one is named Steve the other Bob. Steve walks up to Bob and asks "how are you?" Bob replies "fine" in a tired sounding voice. Steve notices and comments "you sound tired." Bob responds "I haven't been sleeping lately. I keep rolling out of bed which then wakes me with a startle and then I can't go back to sleep." Steve asks "can you see a doctor about that?" Bob replies "I have an appointment this after noon."
The next day they run into each other and this time Bob is feeling better and tells Steve that he got a great night sleep. Steve asks what was the difference. Bob responds "The doctor said I was sleeping to close to where I got in so I should move to the middle."
Our faith walk can be the same. If we remain too close to where we got in we are easy pickings for the Devil.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1(1 Peter 5:8)
I am not saying that you will fall from faith but I am saying that you are more apt to be tempted and fall into sin. One way to move to the middle is through daily prayer and Bible study.
Structured Prayer Time is meant to help you develop a habit of daily prayer. It is suggested that we should spend 20 minutes to 1 hour a day in private personal prayer. The best time of day to pray is different for everyone. Many will suggest first thing in the morning before you start your day, but any time that you can set aside for God is good. Where you pray does not matter and the posture that you take does not matter. You can sit in a comfortable chair or lay in bed or kneel. It does not matter. It is helpful if you can make the place you are praying different than any other time of day. You may light a candle, use or not use a blanket, put up Christian pictures, etc. I dream of having a prayer room, but most of us don't have that luxury.
This is a suggested guide, there is no right or perfect way to do it. Take this suggestion and personalize it for your own personality and relationship with God.
I pray that God will bless you in this Time you spend with Him.
The next day they run into each other and this time Bob is feeling better and tells Steve that he got a great night sleep. Steve asks what was the difference. Bob responds "The doctor said I was sleeping to close to where I got in so I should move to the middle."
Our faith walk can be the same. If we remain too close to where we got in we are easy pickings for the Devil.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1(1 Peter 5:8)
I am not saying that you will fall from faith but I am saying that you are more apt to be tempted and fall into sin. One way to move to the middle is through daily prayer and Bible study.
Structured Prayer Time is meant to help you develop a habit of daily prayer. It is suggested that we should spend 20 minutes to 1 hour a day in private personal prayer. The best time of day to pray is different for everyone. Many will suggest first thing in the morning before you start your day, but any time that you can set aside for God is good. Where you pray does not matter and the posture that you take does not matter. You can sit in a comfortable chair or lay in bed or kneel. It does not matter. It is helpful if you can make the place you are praying different than any other time of day. You may light a candle, use or not use a blanket, put up Christian pictures, etc. I dream of having a prayer room, but most of us don't have that luxury.
This is a suggested guide, there is no right or perfect way to do it. Take this suggestion and personalize it for your own personality and relationship with God.
- Start by relaxing and saying a prayer asking that God use this time of prayer to guide and teach you and strengthen your faith bringing you closer to Him.
- Then you may want to thoughtfully say the Lords Prayer
- Follow this with reading some Scripture. There are many ways you can do this. You can start a book of the Bible and read it all the way thru. You can pick out favorite verses or you can just open the Bible and start reading.
- As you read if a word or phrase stands out stop and think about it. Ask yourself What is God trying to tell me in this word or phrase? Read this part over and over listening for guidance. If you start thinking about something in your life or day follow that thought and look for what God is trying to tell you. It is a good idea to write any guidance down in a prayer journal. This will help you later to see if God was guiding you or if this was only your thinking.
- After that thought has run its course continue reading or mover to the next part of the prayer time. (If you need to end at a certain time set an alarm to go off 5 minutes before your time to quit and then move to the next part.)
- End the Bible reading by thanking God for this time and pray for what ever comes to mind. Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness, Pray for other people and then for your needs. (you could follow the ACTS prayer)
- End with the Lords Prayer. This does not have to be the end of your prayer. You can carry it through your day by thinking about what God revealed during this time and saying a prayer anytime something comes to mind.
I pray that God will bless you in this Time you spend with Him.
1The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) . Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
