What
are the feelings you have when something you ordered arrives at your door? Have
you ever gotten a beautifully wrapped present on Christmas Day, your birthday,
or some other special occasion? Your emotions can range from excitement, surprise,
love, or gratitude (for the giver).
When
you spend time with the Almighty (through Bible study and prayer) are you getting
a divine present that inspires you to go out and spread the biblical message of
hope to a world that desperately needs it?
Children
love the gift of music. For all you church kids, do the lyrics to this tune
bring back fond memories of excitedly participating in children’s church?
Verse One
Read your
Bible.
Pray every day (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow.
Pray every day (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow.
Verse Two
Don’t
read your Bible.
Forget to pray (repeat 3 times).
Don’t read your Bible.
Forget to pray.
And you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink (repeat 3 times).
Don’t read your Bible.
Forget to pray.
And you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink.
Forget to pray (repeat 3 times).
Don’t read your Bible.
Forget to pray.
And you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink (repeat 3 times).
Don’t read your Bible.
Forget to pray.
And you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink.
Repeat 1st verse.
As an adult, I don’t see the above popular
children’s song quite the way I did back then. Before you brand me a heretic,
please read what I have to say, I find daily Bible reading and prayer
rather monotonous, legalistic, and ineffective in my daily life. (Though for
some of you this process is effective, and needed for your spiritual walk. Keep
doing it.)
In my case, this spiritual routine can often prevent
me from getting anything valuable from my time with the Almighty. When this is
not my own conviction and I’ve been told (through the years) this is what a
good Christian should do to gain favor (and divine love) from the Heavenly
Father, it’s not the best use of my time.
Prayer can often become a mindless incantation
of certain people’s names that I mumble (or think in my mind) without much
meaning.
My method of infrequent prayer and Bible study
involves saying a quick prayer (in the business of my daily life) for a
particular individual when God lays someone on my heart.
Right now you’re reading one of the topical
Bible studies I do most times when I prepare a post on ENCOURAGE ME. (This is my favorite and most effective method of
Bible study. I love helping other people to understand and be encouraged by the
scripture.)
God does not love me anymore than He already
does based on the number of times I regularly do the above spiritual routines.
That’s works-based Christianity, the Almighty doesn’t favor.
What I love of the Heavenly Father is based on
the relationship we have of each other. He loves me simply because I am His
child. Read the verses below:
“God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had
nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. It’s not the result of anything
you’ve done, so no one can brag about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, GW)
If your daily spiritual routine has become
meaningless (and causes no positive change in your life), it’s time to make a
adjustment (in your world).
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do
what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you
listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a
mirror.
You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you
look like. But if you look carefully into the
perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget
what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James
1:22-25, NLT)
For the individual (who will never spend hours
in Bible study), devotional books come in a variety of needed topics, and can
be a used as a quick, inspirational approach to spending a few valuable moments
at the beginning of the day with your loving Heavenly Father, who has all the
answers you’ll need for that twenty-four period of time.
There is no reason to feel guilt over this
entire spiritual process. (See Guilty
Party.) God wants you to be at the center of His world (not the other way
around). Spending some time with Him on a regular basis is essential.
Psalms 32:6 (MSG) once again reminds us “…every
one of us needs to pray…” Your Heavenly Father anxiously waits to hear from
you. Have you spoken recently with Him?
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