Hi Guys! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written over here. There isn’t a particular reason, except that I have just been busy doing LIFE, which has been pretty sweet lately.
Recently I have found myself feeling pretty content in a lot of aspects, including my job, my friends, and even singleness! And I am so thankful for that. Well, because I had been in a sweet spot of contentment, it caused a quite un-sweet spot in my time with God. I hadn't been desiring or wanting anything I didn't have, so I hadn't felt a need for God. Isn’t it funny how it’s in our biggest moments of desperation that we have our most intimate moments with the Lord? When things are good, it’s so easy for me to put Him on the side. I always pray all throughout the day every day, but I hadn't been intentional or in in the Word. There is no excuse for this; I know I always need to be spending intentional time seeking Him. But after I had finished a few studies, I didn’t have anything else planned. Between feeling content and having nothing lined up, I ended up just not doing anything. I knew I had to get back in it, so I said okay, I’ll start again on April 1st. So on April 1st, I picked up my journal, my bible and something called the 31 day challenge, and hopped back into it.
The 31 Day Challenge is something I have done twice a year for about 6 years, and it really helps me get into a routine. I WILL be sharing the 31 Day Challenge with you soon, and have a special project planned around it, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I wanted to share some tips that help me get back into the quiet-time swing of things. Alan Lakein said “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” This quote could not be more true for my life, especially with quiet times. Looking back, every time I've hit a dry spell with getting in the Word, two things were always involved: 1) My lack of a "need for God," and 2) No plan in sight. Any time I’ve seen success in maintaining time with God, these 3 steps led the way:
- PLAN ahead. While you’re in your current routine of a quiet time, look into what you want to do next. Do some research into studies, topics, or even books of the bible you’d like to learn about. Always have what’s next ready for when you're done with your current routine.
- Be held ACCOUNTABLE. Grab a pal who also wants to be checked in on, even if you're not in the same study routine. Set expectations with each other for how you'll check in. With my gals, we've said that by 10:00pm we'll text the other, “Have you done your quiet time yet today?”
- WRITE your prayers. Writing out my prayers or general thoughts from my time in the Word really connects me with God on a more intimate level. A few years ago, I came up with a little acronym to help me pray with intention. I use P.T.C.O.M:
P - Praise: Praise God for His character and Who he is.
T- Thanksgiving: Thank God and take time to let Him know before you go into the rest of your prayer.
C- Confession: It’s pretty convicting to write this out everyday.
O- Others: Take time to pray for your family, friends, and community. Be specific!
M-Myself: Write out your prayer requests you have for yourself.
I know this post wasn’t super focused on singleness, but I wanted to be honest with where I was and what I’ve been up to. It is such a sweet reminder that God still loves us even when we ignore him for a little while. To see more on what scripture says on how we should pray,read: Matthew 6:5-15 this helped me organize my prayer routine and I hope it helps you too! Until next week!
