How Not to Say the Wrong Things – from James 3:6-4:10

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 For the last few weeks God has been speaking to me through my pastor’s sermons.  It’s been great.  I love it when that happens.  Anyway, God has been speaking to me about the way I communicate with people.  I don’t talk a lot, but when I do I sometimes say the wrong thing, things that are unseemly.  Bottom line, I just don’t always speak with Godly wisdom.  These days, people aren’t very serious.  We don’t always know if someone is joking or not.  It’s hard to find a genuine person who will talk straight.  What I’m getting at is I tend to follow the world; that is, I tend to try to impress people with a joking attitude, even when the situation doesn’t call for it; or sometimes I’m too blunt and insensitive.  From my study of James I’m thinking that my heart is not right—because words come from the heart.  You guessed it; the sermons have been from James.  I think I’ll just go through the verses, a few at a time, and give my comments.

 James 3:6-8.  Here James describes how our tongue can be used for much evil and corruption; and    no man can tame it.  That’s very true.  We really have to be careful what we say.  If the devil wants to use us to stir up trouble and cause division, even among Christians, he will try to use our tongue.

 James 3:9-12.  Our tongue being evil, is capable of great deception.  For example, on Sunday a man may speak wonderful blessings to God in his prayers and songs; then Monday through Saturday the same man will be heard cursing and fighting with his neighbors.  James says, “These things ought not to be.”  In fact, this is impossible.  One who curses man cannot really omit blessing to God.  That blessing must be fake.  A heart that curses men cannot bless God at the same time.  One example given is of a fruit tree. A fig tree does not also bear olives.  Thus because our speech comes from our heart, whatever the condition the heart is, that is what it will produce.  If the heart is bad, the speech will be bad; if the heart is good (being made new by the Holy Spirit) the speech will be good, and we will naturally bless others.  Jesus said in Luke 6:43-45,

 A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.  NKJV

 I think that last line gives us a clue as to what makes us say the things we do.  It says, “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”  Therefore, we utter words when our heart is filled up with thoughts.  The overflow of thoughts in our heart will come out as our words. It’s the same thing that happens with a fruit tree.  When the tree has enough nourishment to help it grow and survive, then whatever nourishment comes next will be used to produce fruit. 

And whatever we put into our heart and mind through the ear and the eye gate, it will eventually come out of our mouth—when our heart is full.

But can’t we put into our mind both good things and bad things, and so speak both good and bad?  Evidently not.  Jesus seems to say that either the heart is good or bad.   Well let’s return to James and hopefully we will get an answer to that.

 James 3:13-18.  I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but, as I see it there are two kinds of wisdom a person fills his mind with: earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. Evidently there is no in between. Earthly wisdom is filled with envy, bitterness, lying, self-seeking, and is sensual and demonic; and where these things exist (in the heart) there is much confusion and evil. Heavenly wisdom, on the other hand is pure, peaceable, gentle, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

That last term says a lot to me—without hypocrisy.  The guy with the bad heart was a hypocrite.  He was the guy who pretended to bless God while all the while he was cursing his neighbors.  He was not a real Christian was he?  He was faking it.  And what we need to know is that it is impossible for anyone who has a bad heart to produce good, truthful, unhypocritical speech. It can’t be done. 

So somehow the heart has to be made new. That’s the solution—which is found in the next section.

 James 4:1-10.  All the trouble we have, all our wars and fighting, our lust, murder, and adultery comes from our members—that is, from inside of us, from our heart, or from our nature. And our evil nature naturally makes friends with the world, which is also evil.  So this is the problem: we have an evil nature and we live in an evil world. 

But verse 6 says, “But He gives more grace.”  God’s grace is our solution.  By His grace our heart can be make new.  But how do we receive His grace? The answer is in the very next phrase:

 

God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.

 

Our answer all this time is found in this word humility.  And the root of our sin problem is found in the word pride.  Try as you may, you will find no sin that does not stem from pride.  And the fact that you may be denying it right now is proof.  Your denial is pride itself.  And you will get no where until you admit your pride; for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 

Now don’t think that there is any key to being humble. The only way to be humble is to decide to humble your self and submit to God.  It is a decision of your will. But when you decide to make that decision, than God will act on your behalf.  He will give you a new heart like His and you will be made new.  

If you are not even a Christian this is the way to start your Christian life.  And if you are a Christian but have been living in sin, this is also the way for you to get a new start.

As for me, I have to keep reminding myself that my problem is within.  I will continually seek God, asking Him to reveal any sin in my heart, and asking Him to give me His wisdom.

Posted in From My Pastor's Sermons | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Praying the Scriptures in Our Quiet Time

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

If our time in the Word is the focus of the quiet time, our prayer time is the life, the vitality, and the fire of the quiet time.  And in that prayer time we endeavor to pray the application of scripture into ourselves, believing that what God has promised us will come to pass.  Thus, it is the time when we reach out to Him, as we internalize and personalize the Word, allowing it to take root. 

But the prayer time is not only when we seek God, it is the time when He reaches out to us—when the Holy Spirit takes our hand and leads us to the throne of God.  There God burns out our sin and warms our heart with His everlasting peace and joy and love.

As you begin your prayer time it is natural to pray over the words of scripture that God has already blessed you with.  Then pour out your heart in praise and thanksgiving to Him, confessing your sins along the way as God reveals them to you. 

Be careful that you are not, at first, consumed with petitions—for yourself or for others.  The prayers of a quiet time should be mainly of praise, thanksgiving, and confession; if we are seeking God and His will, praise and thanksgiving, intermingled with confession of sin will be the natural course of prayer.  Then as your heart is purified through prayerful meditation of the Word and through confession of sin, He will show you His heart and burden you with His requests, which will become your own.  Too often we come to prayer with our list of wants without regard to what His will is.  And we wonder why our prayers never get answered. 

Now, in regard to the supplication prayers of your quiet time, and generally as you remain in prayer throughout the day for various concerns: believe that what you pray He will answer.  Then as you go about your day be observant and watch for the answer.  Too often we miss the answer, because, as Blackaby has suggested, we seldom relate anything that happens during the day to our praying.  According to Blackaby, when we pray and then forget what we have prayed, when things start to happen during the day that are not normal we generally see them as distractions and try to get rid of them.  We fail to connect them with what we have just prayed.

This is what Blackaby says he does:  “When I pray, I immediately begin to watch for what happens next.  I prepare to make adjustments to what begins in my life.   When I pray it never crosses my mind that God is not going to answer.  Expect God to answer your prayers, but stick around for the answer.”

Yes, it is so important to watch for the answer.  I think I often miss His answers.  They come in the general circumstances of life and I don’t even recognize it.  We all need to be more watchful in prayer.

I want to suggest also that as you encounter trials, and things that baffle you, thank God for them because they will be used to increase your faith and build your Christian character (Ja. 1:2-3).  As you persevere through these trials remain strong in prayer. The more difficult the trial the stronger and longer prayer is required.  And if you have faith God will give you wisdom, which will help you to make sense out of the difficulties and to bring you to an understanding of what to do (Ja. 1:5).  In addition to wisdom He gives grace, more than enough to heal your wounds, even to bring lasting peace and joy that passes all understanding.

This post is an excerpt from the book I a just finishing —Prayer A to Z.  It is also included in the book Joy of Prayer, which is on my book page.

Posted in Part 1-3, How to Have a Quiet Time, Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Quietness in Prayer | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Daring To Step Out in Faith – from 1 Sam. 14:6-14

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

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1 Sam 14:6

Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

NKJV

I love this story.  It shows the courage and the faith of Jonathan.  And what a leader he was.  “Come let us go over…” he said to his armor bearer.  He was eager to fight for the Lord, and he was not afraid.  The thing I like best about this story is the phrase, “it may be that the Lord will work for us.”  This tells us that there was some doubt in his mind as to whether God would work for them and give them victory, but he was so eager that he was willing to try it whatever the cost—to step out in faith. 

His faith was not dependent on an assurance that God would work for them; rather it was based on His ability, His power.  Jonathan knew without a doubt that God could work for them and give them victory—no matter what the odds were.  And I think that is what he was counting on.   

I don’t know that I have ever had faith like this.  He and his armor bearer were willing to take on the entire Philistine army in the hopes that God would choose to help them, to fight for them.  It seems that Jonathan was so caught up in a vision of God giving them victory and his eagerness to test Gods power through them that he was blind to the reality that they were vastly outnumbered. Did they have a death wish, or were they that confident that God would help them?

I seem to always want be sure before going into anything that I will make it out unscathed.  Because I don’t like pain or the possibility of defeat.  Maybe I should try to be more like Jonathan—just go in there and fight, and see what the Lord will do through me.   

If you are interested in what the Lord did for Jonathan, read the story for yourself.

1 Sam 14:7-14

7 So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.”

8 Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 10 But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”

11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” 12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.”

Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. 14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land.

NKJV

Posted in 1 Genesis to Nehemiah, Quiet Time Highlights | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Five Purposes for Journaling

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen
  

Five Purposes for Journaling

1.  To preserve a record of the things God has shown you.  This may be in the form of a diary at the end of the day, or the study notes you take during your quiet time.  Make sure to make your notes neat and legible because periodically you may want to review them, especially at times when you feel discouraged and want to confirm to yourself the workings of God in your life.

2.  To be as reminders of the mighty acts of God.  In Old Testament times, altars were built, and stones were set to mark the places where God did mighty works.  Journaling can serve the same purpose.  In your journal you may want to highlight all the places in your writing where you talk about how God showed you something about Himself that amazed you, or how He did something great in your life. Years later, when you go back and read from your journal, your memories of those times and what God did will serve as great faith builders.

3.  To use for teaching others what God has done.  No doubt there have been times when you have wanted to share with a friend something God has shown you, but you can’t seem to remember all the details.  This activity of Journaling will help to firm up in your mind God’s words to you, and also to be as a ready record for later times when you need them—for instance, if you are planning a lesson or a testimony, or just to share with that friend.

4. To record the pattern of God’s workings around you and in your life, so you can see more clearly if the direction of your life is in line with how God has been working and leading you.  As Henry Blackaby has written, “When God gets ready for you to take a new step or direction in His activity, it will always be in sequence with what He already has been doing in your life.”    For this reason, it is important to not only record how God is leading you, but also to record the activities of your life so you can compare the two side by side to see how they match up. Thus, by periodically reviewing your journal you can see if your life is in line with God’s leading.

5.  To take control of wandering thoughts while in prayer.  When you pray it helps to have a notebook beside you so that when thoughts come to your mind you can write them down and pray over them.  It is better to deal with all your wandering thoughts and pray over them then to struggle with trying to block them out of your mind.  Your best and most inspiring prayer times will be over the things that keep popping into your mind.  In some cases the Holy Spirit is putting those thoughts in your mind.  At other times the devil is trying to distract you.  In either case, if all those thoughts are written down and prayed over God will bless and prosper your prayer time.

I also find it helpful to write out my prayers, especially during the first few minutes. Then after awhile, when God fills me with His Spirit and takes away the distraction, or helps me deal with it by His Spirit, I can set my notebook aside.

Posted in Part 1-3, How to Have a Quiet Time, Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Quietness in Prayer | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Sexual Purity by the Power of the Gospel

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

We have tried all kinds of things, haven’t we, to achieve sexual purity—to free ourselves from lust and sexual sins.  We have tried will power and daily repeating of things that we will and will not do.  We have tried fasting.  We have punished ourselves. We have tried accountability groups.  We have prayed and repeated Bible verses and religious phrases.  All of these things were of some benefit, but the real power for lasting purity is in the gospel.  If what we do is not empowered by the gospel (that is, by faith in Christ) we might as well give up!

My thoughts on this subject were first sparked from what Paul said to the Galatians, in Galatians 1:4.

 Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father (NKJV).

 Here Paul mainly, I think, is speaking of deliverance in the ultimate sense—that He might save us from hell.  But this deliverance is also from this evil world, to live a pure life, pleasing to God.

Notice how our deliverance comes about.  It is not by anything we do, or not even by our prayers.  It is by Christ’s death.  “He gave Himself for our sins, that…”  This is the gospel, the good news!  And it is the key to our victory in this life—including our purity.

 What is the gospel?  It is the good news that Jesus died on the cross and paid the full penalty for our sins.  That atonement makes it possible for anyone to receive forgiveness of sins and to be holy and blameless before God (Eph. 1:4-7).  In other word, because Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead, we can be justified and made righteous before God.  It is provided to all those who repent of there sins and trust in Christ to save them and help them in life—to live a life pleasing to God.

Now we who have trusted Christ will still continue to sin from time to time; however, since Christ died for our sins God will overlook them (eternally speaking) and thus will let us into heaven.

 But there is still the issue of sin.  Even though a Christian’s sin will not keep him out of heaven, it does displease God and will reap corruption and misery (Gal. 6:8).  But there is hope, and this hope is found still in the gospel.  Yes, the gospel not only saves us from hell, it gives us power to free us from sin.  Here’s how:

 When I trusted in Christ and He saved me by His blood, I was born again.  He now lives in me and I am a new person.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (NKJV).

According to this verse, because Christ lives in me, all things are new.  The old life is dead, and now I have a new life.  This suggests that I have a new nature, a Christ-like nature.  And I have new desires.  And guess what?  I have a desire to be pure.  (And I know this new desire comes from Christ in me.)

 Another verse that I think is helpful is 1 Peter 2:24.

 Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed (NKJV).

 This verse tells us that when we trusted in Christ, we mysteriously died with Him on the Cross for our sins (Crucified with Christ, Gal 2:20), thus bringing about a separation from sins and a spiritual healing (thus the phrase “having died to sins”).  Our life now, since we trusted in Christ, is a life lived by faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20).

 There is no guarantee that Christians will be free of the pollution of sin, but we know that there is an incredible power available to us in the blood of Christ to live a pure life.  There is both the power to be forgiven and cleansed from past sins (1 John 1:9), as well as the power to be kept from present and future sins. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says,

 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (NKJV).

Trust God for the way of escape from temptation.  Believe that He will give you the power to escape through His blood that was shed for you.  Yes, you have the power for purity in His blood.  It already has been shed for you.  Just take it and use it against the enemy and against your flesh.  “There is wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb.”

Posted in 5 Romans to Philemon, Bible Studies, Quiet Time Highlights | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Bible: Seven Reasons We Should Give It Priority in Our Devotions

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

    

This is an excerpt from the book Prayer A to Z — coming soon!

1.  By the Word we come to know Jesus (Lu. 24:27).  When we focus on the Word we are, in fact, focusing on Jesus—for He is the central theme of the Bible; the Spirit of Jesus permeates all of its pages.

2.  The Word brings us joy and delight like nothing else.  The Psalmist declares in Psalms 119:14-16, “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.  I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.  I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word.”

3.  By the Word we grow spiritually.  1 Peter 2:2 tells us that we should long for the pure milk of the Word just as newborn babes long for their mother’s milk.  Moreover, as we imbibe deeply of it’s nourishment we will grow up in all the things of God.  Jesus said to His disciples, and He says to us, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (Jn. 6:35).  If we spend a significant amount of quality time in the morning—from thirty minutes to an hour—studying and meditating on the Word, that Word that lingers in our mind will sustain us spiritually for the entire day.  The Psalmist said, “Oh, how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97). 

4.  The Word gives us peace and victory.  If we come to the Word in the morning feeling discouraged, before long we will find peace and victory.  Psalms 119:165 says, “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.”

 5.  The Word is our guide.  When we come to the Word in the morning (or evening) feeling lost, when we pray asking for guidance, His Word will be as a lamp in front of our feet showing us where to go.  Psalms 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

 6.  The Word has great value for personal purity.  Those who meditate on the Word and take great pains to memorize it have a great advantage in maintaining a pure mind.  The Psalmist says, “How can a young man cleanse his way?  By taking heed according to Your Word…Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119: 9, 11).

7.  The Word meditated on in the morning equips us for every good work throughout the day. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Posted in Part 1-3, How to Have a Quiet Time, Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Quietness in Prayer | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Longing for New Bodies and a New Home – from 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

 This is my own verse by verse, brief commentary on this passage, in an effort to make it a little clearer.  Read the passage, and then my commentary follows it.  Please let me know if it helps you.  I hope it encourages you. 

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8

4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

NKJV

 

4:16. We should not lose heart over troubles and sickness and pain in the body.  Though our body is perishing, our inward man is being renewed day by day; that is, our inner self is growing daily to be more like Christ.

4:17. The more we are afflicted in this life with suffering (especially if we suffer while doing what is right), the more we will have the opportunity to grow in Christ likeness.  In fact, the afflictions we endure will work for us just like lifting weights; they will help to build up our spiritual muscles.  And the future glory we will receive will far outweigh the affliction.

4:18. So we should not be concerned about the sufferings of our body now, for our bodies are only temporary.  We should be more aware of, and look forward to, our new bodies and all the glorious things to come.  Though we can’t see these things, they are real and eternal and glorious.

5:1. The bodies we have now are nothing compared to what our new bodies will be like.  Our bodies now are like flimsy tents and will soon be destroyed.  Our heavenly bodies, however, will be like a sturdy building, which will last forever—because they will be built by God Himself.

5:2.  Just thinking about these old, warn out bodies of ours, and the fact that we will soon be in our new bodies, makes us long in anticipation of when we will receive them.  It will be just like putting on a new set of clothes!

5:3.  Don’t ever think that after we die, in our new life we will float around heaven as spirits.  No no!  We will receive actual, material bodies made to last for eternity. I think they will look much like our bodies now, except, as I said, they will last forever—and also they will be super bodies (what all we will be able to do I don’t know).

5:4. We are burdened now not because we want to be rid of this earthly body.  Deep down we really like our body; we just want a body that will last, and not be diseased and worn down.  So, I think we really want our same bodies; we just want them to be upgraded, made better.

5:5. Are we afraid of dying and getting new bodies?  Well, we don’t have to be if we trust in God.  He has prepared us for that day, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to comfort us and assure us that the entire procedure will go smoothly as He has planned.

5:6. Therefore, we live in confidence and with the understanding that as long as we are in this earthly body we are not really at home with the Lord.

5:7. In view of this present reality, we must keep looking to Him and trust Him rather than look at our own troubles.

5:8. Yes, we so long for out new bodies and our new home—where we will always be with the Lord.

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Pregnancy Even After Rape: Something that God Intended to Happen

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

Richard Mourdock, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Indiana, said in a debate on Tuesday (October 23, 2012) that “even when life begins with that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen.”  Mourdock issued a statement after the debate trying to explain his comments: “God creates life, and that was my point. God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that He does. Rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick.”

I wholeheartedly agree with Mourdock, but it is something that a non-Christian doesn’t understand—that God is able to create something good out of something evil; and that something is a pregnancy, even in the case of rape.  In fact, when it comes to a human creation, however it comes about, even if it is by a rape, God in His wisdom intended it to happen—He planned it.  That’s right; I didn’t say God allowed it to happen, I said He intended it to happen.  I suppose none of us really understands this, but it is true.  God works His will and He creates people out of situations that are evil.

We see this over and over again in the Bible.  Look at the genealogy in Matthew (1:1-16).  God brought forth the Lord Jesus Christ through sinful people; there are evil and sinful people in that line, including Rahab who was a prostitute and Manasseh who was terribly evil—yet God intended all this to happen as it did.

Yes, rape is a terrible thing, but a baby born out of rape does not guarantee that the child will become just like his father.  And even if this kind of sin is passed on (to the child), that in no way justifies killing that innocent victim—that unborn child. (No, I am not in favor of abortion in the case of rape of incest.)

If you were molested by an evil person, should we kill you because you have been damaged?  Of course not!  In fact, you then will be uniquely qualified to comfort and help someone else who has gone through what you have gone through.  And in fact, in God’s wonderful sovereign way, which none of us can understand, God intended it to happen.

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Five Things to Plan for Your Daily Devotions (Quiet Time)

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen
 

This is an excerpt from Prayer A to Z — coming soon!

Some would say, there’s No need for planning, just let the Holy Spirit lead you in your quiet time.  But I say, the Holy Spirit is all in favor of planning.  In fact, He will help you plan your quiet time.  So, when you begin to plan your quiet time, pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you; and then, all along the way, believe that what you are thinking and planning is from Him.  Here are…

Five Things to Plan for Your Daily Quiet Time

 1. The time.  Decide what time of the day you are going to have your quiet time.  Consider that it should be a time when you are most alert.  You want to give God the best part of your day.  The time decided on should also be a time that would best influence the decisions of the day.  For most people that would be in the morning, because the morning is the start of the day, the time when whatever you do will tend to influence the rest of the day.  For example, if you have a bad morning the rest of the day tends to be bad.  If you have a good morning the rest of the day tends to go well.  So, if we praise the Lord in the morning and seek His face we are more likely to carry on His praises throughout the day.  A quiet time in the morning is like setting the pace for the day.  But whatever time of the day you decide on, plan to start on time.  Believe that God is waiting to meet you at exactly the time you and He have planned it.

2.  The place.  The place you have chosen should be conducive to study, meditation, and prayer—a place of quiet and solitude where there is the least amount of distractions.

3.  The content of the Bible study.  I suggest that you plan the content of at least two or three months of quiet times in advance.  You don’t want to get stuck with not knowing what to read or study and then have to use your valuable prayer and study time trying to decide what you are going to do.  Here are a few suggestions of what you could do:  (1) Read the Bible through in a year.  (2) Plan to study through a few books of the Bible developing themes and discovering the key passages.  (3) Do verse studies.  Study a verse each day, and make it your aim to memorize that verse during the course of the day. (4) Plan a few Bible characters to study.  (5) Plan word studies.  Study one word each day.  Plan to get the meaning of the word, and to trace the word throughout the Bible.

4.  Its length.  It is up to each person how long he wants to spend with God; and then he ought to plan that time.  Planning the length of time ahead of time is most important so that you can be sure that you will have the time you desire.  Too often, by not planning, we get frustrated either by having more time then we know what to do with, or we have too little time and we constantly feel pressed, feeling that we are going to be late for work or appointments.

5.  Its structure.  It will be helpful to outline ahead of time what you are going to do in your quiet time, and even plan a segment of time for each activity.  Here is what it may look like:

 

Bible Study (15 min.) – till 6:15

Journal entry (10 min.) – till 6:25

Personal Prayers (10 min.) – till 6:35

Interceding for others (10 min.) – till 6:45

 

Posted in Part 1-3, How to Have a Quiet Time, Prayer A to Z Excerpts, Quietness in Prayer | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Quiet Time: Taught by Jesus

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

 Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 6:6, “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (NAS). 

Generally, when we have our quiet time, we think of, and we are involved mainly in the mechanics of the quiet time.  That is, we come to our desk with our Bible and notebook, we read, we study, we meditate on a passage of the Word, we write down a few notes, and we pray.  And we say, “I have had my quiet time.”  But I wonder what God would think of it.  We sometimes should ask ourselves, “Have I met God today, or have I just been plodding through the mechanics of a quiet time?”  Jesus never taught the mechanics of a quiet time.  He wasn’t concerned with methods.  Here in Matthew 6:6 Jesus gives us not the mechanics or the activities of a quiet time, rather He gives us the approach and the nature of a quiet time.  He tells us how to meet God and how to hear Him.  And that is really the main goal of a quiet time.

So here in this verse Jesus tells us what to do.  If you want to hear God, He says, first, “go into your inner room.”  Then, “shut your door.”  Third, He says, “when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”  Now what did He mean?

When He said, “go into your inner room,”He was saying that the prayers of a quiet time are to be done in private, praying only to God, rather than in public where everyone can see you (v. 5).  The nature of a quiet time then is to get alone with God, to a place where nobody is watching or distracting, to a place where we can close the door to all outside distractions. 

This place, where Jesus calls the closet or the inner room, may be literally a closet or a room in the house where there are no other people or distractions, and even no windows where one would be tempted to look out and be distracted by whatever is outside.  However, I think Jesus had a broader meaning.  He meant any place of privacy and secrecy.  Jesus’ closet or place of privacy was typically a garden, a mountain, or the wilderness.  The devout Jewish people in Jesus time often chose to pray on their roof tops (Read Acts 10:9). 

According to Barns, from Barns Notes:

 Every Jewish house had a place for secret devotion.  The roofs of their houses were FLAT places, well adapted for walking, conversation, and meditation…Professor Hackett (“Illustra- tions of Scripture,” p. 82) says: “On the roof of the house in which I lodged at Damascus were chambers and rooms along the side and at the corners of the open space or terrace, which constitutes often a sort of upper story.  I observed the same thing in connection with other houses.”  Over the porch, or entrance of the house, there was frequently a small room of the size of the porch, raised a story above the rest of the house, expressly appropriated for the place of retirement.  Here, in secrecy and solitude, the pious Jew might offer his prayers, unseen by any but the Searcher of hearts.  To this place, or to some similar place, our Saviour directed his disciples to retire when they wished to hold communion with God.  This is the place commonly mentioned in the New Testament as the ‘upper room,’ or the place for secret prayer.

 

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