This post is the first of five on several Spiritual Habits that help us experience the Life Change of Transformation and develop a Healthy Faith.
One of the baseline habits that helps us become more like Jesus is spending time alone with God using the Bible and prayer. When you include the practice of journaling the fruit of these times alone with God, the results are even more life-changing. To maximize the life-changing potential of engaging in this habit, you need the following:
Bible: Get a Bible that’s easy to understand. A New International Version (NIV) is a good place to start. You can get one at any bookstore. You can also order one online.
Paper and Pen: I use a spiral-bound notebook to make daily journal entries. You can pick one up at any store that sells office or school supplies.
Plan: You’ll find your consistency in spending time in the Bible grows if you’re following a pre-determined reading plan. At a minimum, I’d encourage you to pick a book of the Bible a read it straight through over several days or even weeks. You might try a chapter or two a day in the Old Testament, or a paragraph or section of a chapter a day in the New Testament. You can also find some great reading plans at YouVersion.com.
Place: Chose a place to meet with God each day that will enable you to focus on what you’re reading with minimal—if not zero—interruptions.
Time: Pick a time of day that works for you that you can keep consistently. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the morning (me) or in the evening (my wife), the key is to pick a time slot you can stick to almost 100% of the time.
Journaling Pattern: The purpose of your journal is to keep a running record of what God is saying to you during your time alone with Him in the Bible. There’s no right or wrong way to keep a spiritual journal. The key, once again, is consistency. Utilizing an easy to follow pattern helps you be consistent. I tend to use a four-step pattern most of the time.
Step 1 – Write Out The Key Verse. I’ll note the date I’m journaling and the scope of the passages I read that day at the top of the page. Then I pick one key verse that jumped out at me the strongest during my reading and write it out on my page to begin my journaling for that day. The reason I write it out is it makes it easier to look back and review my past entries if the verse is already written on the page.
Step 2 – What’s God Showing Me Today? I’ll usually write a paragraph on the main observations I have from that day’s reading. I want to capture the big idea that flows from the key verse or passage that spoke the loudest to me.
Step 3 – How Do I Apply This? I want to capture on paper what it would look like if my life was being lived according to this passage of scripture. I especially want to document any specific steps I believe God is asking me to take as a result of my time in His word.
Step 4 – Write A Prayer. It may sound strange, but I like to write out a prayer, usually just one paragraph, that expresses the desire of my heart that day to live by the truth my Heavenly Father revealed to me through His word that morning. Writing it out serves to slow me down and focus me on what I truly want to see happen in my life as a result of my time alone with God.
Life-on-Life Relationships: Finally, plan to share with the people you meet with for spiritual encouragement what God is teaching you in your time alone with Him. This might be someone in your small group, someone you’re mentoring, or someone who’s mentoring you. There’s an added catalyst for consistency when someone is expecting you to share with them the fruit of your time alone with God. I have found the experience to be mutually beneficial.
Hint: If you don’t know where to begin, try reading a chapter a day from the book of Proverbs that corresponds with today’s date. In other words, since it’s June 1st, read Proverbs 1. Since there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, you’ll have a chapter for every day of the month. One months with less that 31 days (like this one), just double up on the last day. But watch out! Doing this has been known to change the way people live their lives.
QUESTION: What’s your biggest barrier to spending time alone with God using the Bible and prayer on a DAILY basis?
