You get your Bible, journal, highlighters, and favorite pen. You light a candle, grab your coffee, and snuggle in with your favorite blanket. Finally, you open your Bible and begin your devotions.
Friend, you've forgot one of the most important things: To invite the Father in.
Invite Him into your time. Ask Him to sit down with you. Too often we make our devotions or quiet time about reading the Bible, maybe journaling a little, and maybe a brief prayer. Oh sister, it's about so much more! It's about actually spending intimate time with our Creator. It's about pouring our heart out in praise. It's about listening to Him. It's about being with Him.
If all we do is read our Bible, yes we are doing something good and important and life giving. But we are missing a whole other deep dimension by not being with God.
How can we be with Him?
First, invite Him in. If I want to go out to dinner with a friend, I need to invite her. Invite the Father in. Pray, ask Him to be with you, ask Him to reveal Himself to you, ask Him to teach you, and ask Him to speak to you. Then, be quiet, giving Him a chance to talk to you. If I go to this dinner with a friend but do all of the talking, how will I ever know what is going on in my friend's heart? I need to be still and quiet and listen to her. The same with God. We need to be still and quiet and listen to Him.
One of my favorite songs is Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli. I love to sing it before I dig into God's Word. It's a beautiful way to invite God into my time.
Holy Spirit, You are welcome here
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord
Your presence, Lord
After you've invited God in and spent some time with Him, dive into the Bible. Through the Bible, God also speaks to us. Write out any key verses that stick out to you or something God spoke to you during your reading. Pray the words of the Bible. And finish by once again being still and listening for God to speak to you. Then give thanks to Him, repent of any sin, and finally, ask your requests of Him.
When you go to sit down for your quiet time today, I encourage you to start with inviting God in. Ask Him to spend time with you. You will see a beautiful transformation of your quiet time as you spend time with Him, not just time reading the Bible.
Wow! Loved reading this reminder today and even though I've heard the song before, it was still overwhelming. Thank you.
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