2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another, showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us” (MSG).
Having a personal study/prayer time with God every day is vital to our relationship with Him. God’s Word is our life manual; rich with His knowledge and full of promises. The Bible is our spiritual nourishment; it’s food for our soul! Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (NKJV).Spending time daily in the Word and prayer cultivates your relationship with God and ensures that you are ever growing and developing in your walk with Him. The amount of time chosen for study and prayer is dependent upon you, but establishing a consistent time is important! The time you spend in the Word is an investment into your future- His plans, purposes and desires for your life are sure to come forth as you devote yourself to seeking what HE says about you.
Read:
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Read the passage of scripture you’re studying several times over. Take notes as you’re doing so and jot down any questions that come to mind.
Research:
Look over the notes you took and take the questions that you had and search the web or a concordance to find answers and more information. Dig deeper and find other scriptures that are connected to what you’re studying.
Rewrite:
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Rewrite the scripture or passage in your own words, personalizing it to fit the way He’s speaking to you through it. What is your understanding of what’s happening? What is He speaking to you through His Word? Years later you may look back and see that you have a completely different perspective of the exact same passage.
Remember:
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Challenge yourself to memorize scriptures that stand out to you; ones that the Lord uses to speak something powerful to you during your study time.
Worship:
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The purpose of worship is to honor, exalt, praise and glorify God. Worship is an intimate act and time with Him when we are drawn into His presence. There are many ways to worship; in fact, worship is called to be our lifestyle! We worship Him through reading His Word, through prayer, by obeying Him, by tithing, by fellowshipping and building relationships with other believers, by sharing our faith and serving others, by the attitude we have and the way we live our lives as an example to others, by learning the power of forgiveness and letting God take control of our lives. And the list goes on and on.
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Worship is a great way to begin your daily devotions. You can create a worship playlist on YouTube or iTunes.
Weekly Prayer List:
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To challenge yourself to go deeper in prayer, you can create a weekly prayer list. List the days of the week, Sunday through Saturday and find one specific area you want to focus on for each day of the week (we call this a prayer focus). You can chose something personal and specific to you and your family, or you can expand your horizon and go nationally or globally with your prayers. For example, Sunday could be set aside for praying specifically for your pastors, or pastors around the world. Monday may be a day that you focus on your future and the plans He has for you. Etc. If you want to get even more in depth, challenge yourself to find scripture that you can include in your prayers.
Parallel Study:
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There are so many versions of the Bible available these days, it’s amazing! Sometimes it’s hard to choose one that fits you just right. In any case, using more than one version to study from may help you to better understand the context of the passage of scripture you’re studying. www.YouVersion.com offers a side by side parallel of two versions of your choice.
Scripture Memorization:
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Choose a scripture to memorize and track your progress through quizzes. This site is fun and interactive.
POP (Place of Purpose) Groups:
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Build and continue to grow in your faith with others by being a part of our POP Culture.