“If you want to have a closer relationship with God, you need to read your Bible more.”
Sound familiar? Though this is certainly true, and perhaps the most pivotal step in developing a deeper relationship with Jesus, we must learn to implement other things into our spiritual walk with Christ as we desire to grow and mature in Him. Going deeper always means giving more -- giving more of yourself, more of your time and more of your heart. Just as He wants to be our everything (because He knows that He is what’s best for us), Jesus wants our everything in return, not just a small portion of our day we set aside to read His Word. Therefore, we must be diligent to weave Him into our hearts and minds throughout the day and in multiple ways, continually and intentionally making Him the focus of our lives.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We want to go deeper with Jesus, but something often hinders us. Either we aren’t quite sure where to start, or we burn out when what we’re doing doesn’t seem to be working. So to encourage you in this journey to know Jesus better, I’ve detailed three practical concepts in hopes that they can help you as well as they have helped me in strengthening my own relationship with the Lord.
Have a Study Plan
It's easy to look at the Bible and feel a bit overwhelmed at where to start. It's not exactly a quick read. The best way to approach God's Word is by first praying for the Holy Spirit to guide you, then mapping out a plan on what you want to learn. If you start reading the Bible without a plan, you will often get lost in it and quit. However, when you have something you’re trying to work towards, it will motivate you on the tough days. Having a plan will also allow you to see your progress and encourage you to continue. A Bible study is a great tool for getting into the habit of studying the Word by breaking down scripture in a structured and guided way. (If you’re looking for a place to start, I would recommend any study by Beth Moore or Kelly Minter.) Although if you strictly just want to read the Bible, I would suggest going through Writing the Word with us here at The Front Porch. It’s a simple format that guides you slowly through a book or specific topic each month, allowing you to write out and pray through a group of verses each day. You can also share what you’re learning and the encouragement you receive in your writing with other women on our website who are taking the same journey through scripture that you are. With Writing the Word, you’ll always have someone
Whichever way you choose to dive into scripture, make sure it’s something you can keep up with. When you bite off more than you can chew, you can’t properly digest everything God’s Word can teach you. It’s okay to start slow -- have a plan and stick with it!
Set Reminders
The biggest thing I have to remind myself to do is pray. It’s easy to remember to pray for myself and even those I love, but it’s not so easy to remember to be in prayer for our nation or God’s mission and will for our world. I desired to develop the habit of praying for these things, and since I have to remind myself to do everything else, I decided to try to remind myself to pray. I have two reminders to pray a day. One I created on the reminder app on my phone. It goes off two times a day to remind me to pray for God to raise up laborers to go into the harvest in specific cities that God has placed on my heart. I was asked to pray this twice daily in a weekly prayer letter I receive about these cities, and it’s so cool to know that others are praying this alongside me and we get to see together how God is answering that prayer through these weekly updates.
The other reminder I have is to pray for unreached people groups across the world. I use the app “JP Unreached.” Each day, the app gives me a new people group to pray for that has yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus in that country. You can set up a notification on the app to remind you to pray each day. I chose for mine to notify me right as I’m starting my quiet time each morning; that way I can pray during my regular prayer time.
Is there something you have really wanted to pray for or do regularly and just cannot remember? Create a recurring reminder on your phone, and watch as it grows into a daily discipline without you having to do the work of remembering!
Redeem the Time
What exactly does that mean? Basically, redeeming the time is identifying moments during the day where you can make the most of the quiet/alone time you have and do something to help yourself grow spiritually. If we really look at it, we have more “free” time on our hands than we think. For example, the Lord showed me that between getting ready in the mornings and driving to work, I have a lot more alone time than I thought. So I decided to take advantage of that and redeem that time by listening to podcasts of sermons. Now, I listen to four sermons a week by wonderful pastors that I would normally never “have time” to listen to. It allows me to grow spiritually and set my mind on the things above (Colossians 3:2) as I prepare for my day.
Now, everyone’s time looks different depending on the season that they are in in their lives. So, it is important for you to find that time to redeem consistently and know that even if it is just a few minutes a day, it will add up overtime. Just by praying in the car on the way to work (instead of listening to the radio) and reading your Bible five to ten minutes each night before bed (instead of aimlessly scrolling through your news feed), you are choosing to honor the Lord with your time, and He will bless you in that significantly.
These are just three small things that I have found to help me grow spiritually, and my prayer is that they take you deeper with Jesus as well. John 15: 4-5 says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” As branches, we can only grow and produce the fruit we desire by remaining in Jesus, our Vine. He is the source of life and gives us the ability to live as He has called us to. As we learn to discipline ourselves to grow deeper with Jesus, we learn to remain in Him and it begins to show in all areas of our lives.
If you have not done so, I would also encourage you to read part one of our series on discipline. If you couple these three concepts with the practices discussed in part one, you will be blown away, not only with how much more disciplined you become in all areas of your life, but by what Jesus can do when you give Him your full attention and whole-heartedly seek Him.
If you have not done so, I would also encourage you to read part one of our series on discipline. If you couple these three concepts with the practices discussed in part one, you will be blown away, not only with how much more disciplined you become in all areas of your life, but by what Jesus can do when you give Him your full attention and whole-heartedly seek Him.
No comments
Post a Comment