Bible Study
Thank you for taking time to spend with Jesus today! Before you read God's Word, ask Jesus to speak to you by His Spirit. You will not literally, orally hear Him but if you seek Him, you will receive personal insights in your mind that only Jesus can give you. You may receive wisdom and/or direction, peace and/or assurance from Him. Many Christians believe it is important to pray out loud because it helps your mind not to become distracted. The main thing is just to talk to Jesus and mean what you say in love for Him.
Jesus said, "You will call Me and go and pray to Me and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find me when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:12-13
There are many ways to pray. One way is to talk to Jesus as you would your best friend. Jesus calls us His friends and desires we love Him with all our heart. Like a best friend, Jesus loves for us to share with Him all that we are thinking and experiencing in life. He can guide us and even change our course of action when we share with Him. He loves you and cares for you more than any friend or person on earth. Jesus has compassion for all we experience; He rejoices when we rejoice and grieves with us when we grieve. He desires to help us, guide us to do what is best, in a way that will benefit us most and He wants to bless our lives every day.
Another way to pray is to use the Lord's prayer as a guide: begin with praise; ask for Jesus to use you to accomplish His purposes in your life; praise Him for providing your needs and ask Him to continue to provide for you; confess specific sins, ask Him to forgive you and for Him to empower you to overcome the temptation to return to those sins in your future; tell Jesus you have forgiven others and pray for those who have sinned against you; ask Jesus to deliver you from evil in the world; pray for others who need the help of Jesus and conclude your prayer with praise to Jesus, thanking Him for every good gift He has given you; thank Jesus for His love, His faithfulness, His character, His power and His glory.
An optional way to pray is to pray God's Word by taking a scripture passage like Exodus 34:6-7 and Galatians 5:22-23 and praising Jesus for every Word that describes Him.
If you do not receive what you ask for in prayer, be patient and maintain faith that Jesus will give you what He knows you need in His timing. He sees the complete picture of the future and He knows what is best for us. Sometimes we must walk through difficulties to learn lessons in life, to develop more of His character and so others can grow in these ways as well. Jesus promises to give us all we need if we love Him most and seek to follow Him (Matthew 6:24-34).
There are also different ways to read God's Word. One way is to read the following list, discover what your greatest need is and read the scriptures that will address your need:
When you think God is not there Psalm 139
When overwhelmed with worry Matthew 6:24-34; John 14, Psalm 4
When evil persons are plotting against you Psalm 37
When your burden of sin is too heavy Psalm 51
When you are too busy and have little time for God Psalm 43, Matthew 6:19-34
When you are sick Psalm 41
When you are sad Psalm 34
When you are in danger Psalm 91
When you are discouraged Isaiah 40
When you are alone and scared Psalm 23,Luke 15
When in doubt Psalm 103
When your faith is weak Hebrews 11
When you need to be encouraged Joshua 1:1-9
When your enemy seems to win Psalm 90
When you need peace and rest. Matthew 11:25-30
When you need reassurance Romans 8:28-39
When in search of happiness Colossians 3
When you doubt God's love John 3:16, Matthew 10:31-33, Romans 10:9
When planning a journey Psalm 121
When evil persons hurt you 1 Corinthians 13
When you lust after earthly riches Mark 10:17-31
When you need God's gift of salvation Isaiah 55
When you need to make an
important decision Psalms 119:60; Acts 22:16;Hebrews 3:15;Genesis 6:3; 2 Corinthians 6:2; 1 Kings 18:21; James 4:17
When you need to totally surrender to Jesus Luke 14:33; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Numbers 33:11,12
When you need to be steadfast in times of trouble Acts 14:22; John 15:18-20; 1 Peter 4:12-16; Luke 6:22,23; Isaiah 41:10,13
Another way to study the Bible is to begin reading in the book of John and read one chapter a day until you finish Revelation chapter 5, then go back and begin reading again from Matthew chapter 1. If you desire, you may want to read one chapter of New Testament in the morning and one chapter of Old Testament in the evening (Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah or Jeremiah are good places to begin).
The main thing is to enjoy your time with Jesus each day. When you pray to Him, He loves to hear from you. When you read His Word, He loves to speak to you back (by silently speaking to your mind). Share what Jesus says to you, how He is directing you with a Christian friend and that will encourage your friend to spend more quality time with Jesus.
Other great websites to visit:
http://iblp.org/iblp/discipleship/dailysuccess/
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