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There is no better way to start the day than to have a ‘quiet moment’ with God, and let our merciful God set the pace and schedule for our day. It was the Perth City Mission Superintendent who introduced me to a “Quiet Time”, and the Latin / Greek teacher, leader of the Bible Union on Friday mornings, was the one who encouraged it.

People don’t call it a “quiet time” for nothing.

If God didn’t want to talk to you, He wouldn’t have given us the Bible. If God didn’t want us to talk to him, he wouldn’t have given us the desire to pray.

It is obvious, but sometimes the obvious things are not so obvious.

Matthew 11 verses 28 and 29 of the ‘Message’ – “Are you tired? Exhausted?

Burned by religion? Come to me. Go out with me and you will get your life back. I’ll show you how to really rest. Walk with me and work with me, watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. “

Work and rest: it became one of the topics we learned at Crieff many years ago.

We have to LOWER THE SPEED to read the Word of God: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our life. It corrects us when we make mistakes and teaches us to do “what is right.” II Timothy 3 verse 16.

These are words of life, words of love, words of light, words of comfort, words of encouragement, words of comfort, and these words can change our lives from the inside out. God gives us his word and we respond in many ways.

God can find it in any book of the Bible, on any page, in any chapter, as we take the time to slow down and read some of His Holy Word.

A friend said that he was going to read the entire Bible in a year, from the book of Genesis to the book of MAPS! Very few people can go on like this and get over it in a year, and they can become guilty.

Reading the Bible and praying are not two separate activities. They are two parts of a conversation. You find a quiet place, read, and talk to HIM.

Matthew 6 verse 6 – again, from the ‘Message’ – “This is what I want you to do: Find a quiet and secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play in front of God. You just have to be there so simple and honestly as you can handle. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to feel His grace. “

Keep the sentences simple: “Lord, here I am, I want to hear you, you will speak to me, open my eyes, open my ears, open my mind, speak to me.”

Read for DEPTH, not for DISTANCE. It is not a race, it is more of an exploration.

“But the man who stares (SLOWLY) into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1 pays 25.

If you want to be blessed, this is how you must read God’s Word. This is what Biblical Meditation is all about: reflecting on it in our minds.

You cannot meditate on Scripture quickly, you cannot stare in a hurry, there is a difference between a deep gaze and a quick gaze.

Psalm 119 verse 11 – “I have hidden your word in my heart so as not to sin against you.” Reading the Bible keeps you from sinning. The Word penetrates deep into us, and this begins to change the way we act, live and behave.

SLOW DOWN TO HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD – What’s in this for me? Isaiah 50 verse 4 – “I wake up morning after morning; awake my ear to listen as a disciple.”

Of course, this can be applied at any time of the day. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the morning, but we do have to take care of our time and set aside some time during the day.

When God speaks to us, it’s rarely like a PUSH, it’s more like a PULL. – It attracts us – It attracts us to get closer. He calls us to get closer to HIM.

Come on, Moses, you can do this: get my people out of Egypt.

Come on, Maria, you can do this: my people need a Savior.

Come on Peter, get off the boat, come to me, I’m calling you.

God speaks to us through his WORD.

Hebrews 4 verse 12 – “The Word of God is alive and active. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cuts between soul and spirit, between joints and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” .

God speaks through His Creation – the mountains – the water – the stars – the colors and patterns – the song of the birds of the air.

Romans 1, verses 19 to 20, is written for believers in Christ: “What can be known about God is clear to them, because God has told them clearly. Because since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes: his eternal power and divine. nature – they have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been done. So people have no excuse “

God speaks through his still and delicate voice, think of Elijah.

I Kings 19 verses 11 and 12 “… And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind broke the mountains and broke the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and then the wind a earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still and delicate voice. “

God did not appear that day in a spectacular way, he spoke with a soft and still voice, a whisper.

God entered the cave of Elijah; God was so close in that cave that all he had to do was whisper.

God is not afraid to enter our cave; He is willing to come and tell us about our fear, our anxiety, our pain, our disappointment, our addictions, our temper, our deepest need.

Emmanuel – God with us. Remember: that is one of the profound messages about the coming of Jesus Christ to our world.

DECREASE TO ANSWER IN PRAYER –

Psalm 5 verses 1 and 2 – “Hear my words, O Lord, consider my sigh. Hear my cry for help, King and my God, for I pray to You.”

Three different ways to pray in two verses: words, sighs and tears.

Our ultimate goal and goal is not to study about Jesus Christ, but to spend time with Him.

RELAX – slow down – stand still – open your heart before you can even open your Bible.

READ – Psalm 119 verse 18 – “Open my eyes to see the wonders of your law.”

We are reading in search of depth, not distance. There is so much to see and learn.

REFLECT – Think about what you have read – meditate – Psalm 119 verse 97 – “How I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.”

Luke 2 verse 19 – “Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

It can also be very helpful to write things down, it can turn gray into black and white, and it gives a record of what you have read or learned, or where you have been in God’s Word.

Pray – Then we can bring matters that concern us that day. 1 John 5 verse 14 – “This is the confidence we have when we approach God: that if we ask something according to his will, he hears us.”

I heard this a few years ago: “Some may be worried that they will fall asleep when they pray; if you do, don’t worry, no parent is ever angry if a child falls asleep in their arms.”

Slow down – relax – read the scriptures – consider what you have read – ponder and reflect – and pray, with thanksgiving.

“Loving and merciful Father – help me to put into practice much of the above – help me to hear what you say and teach through the scriptures – hear my prayer. Strengthen me – support me when I find life challenging and hard – fill me with Your love. Holy Spirit, guide and guide me and keep me serving – in Jesus’ Name. Amen. “

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