If you have never tried it, I encourage you to make it a regular practice to spend a day with the Lord.

Usually our days are filled with the demands of life crying for our attention, but today, whether for four, eight or 12 hours, your only priority is to be with your Lord, to bask in His love, to thank and worship Him, to listen to Him, to intercede for others, to lay your life and activities before Him and let Him give directions.

The Bible promises us in James 4:8,

“Come near to God and He will come near to you.”

He is waiting for you! Don’t rush. The objective is to spend relaxed, uninterrupted time with God, not to go through a format. These are mere guidelines. Let God be your guide.

Preparation

• Find a place where you can be alone and free from distractions.
• Bring your Bible, a notebook and pen, a hymn book, song sheets or cassette tapes.

Thanksgiving and Praise

Begin with Thanksgiving
Psalm 100:4 tells us, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.”
a. Thank Him for His patience and forgiveness.
b. Thank Him for the privilege of coming into His presence.
c. Thank Him for what He has done in and through your life in the last year.

Make a List
Take time to list what God has done for you.
Be specific.
Think through every area of your life.

Search My Heart
Ask God to search your heart. Psalm 139:23,24

• Confess any sins the Holy Spirit reveals. Psalm 19:12
• Remember the certainty of forgiveness. 1 John 1:9
• Make certain you are walking and praying in the Spirit. Ephesians 5:15-20

Become Still
Become still before the Lord. Psalm 46:10

• Consider who God is. Psalm 103
• Praise Him for His attributes. Psalm 145
• Rejoice in your fellowship with Him and that He delights in you. Proverbs 15:8
• Read passages of scripture and pray them back to God. Psalms 146-150
• Sing to the Lord.

Revelation
Ask God to reveal the world to you from His point of view as you read. Psalm 33

Intercession
Pray your way around the world with unhurried, detailed intercession for others.

• Begin with your non-Christians, friends, relatives, neighbours and others the Lord puts on your heart.
• Pray for those in authority – federal, provincial and municipal government leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1,2
• Pray for Christians using Paul’s prayers in Philippians 1, Colossians 1, Ephesians 1 and 3.

“By intercessory prayer we can hold off Satan from other lives and give the Holy Ghost a chance with them. No wonder Jesus put such tremendous emphasis on prayer!”  -Oswald Chambers

Personal Life Evaluation

Ask for understanding as you read an entire book of the Bible. Record insights God gives you.

Inquire of God what He thinks of your life and wait. Listen for His answer.

Evaluate the use of the time, talent, treasure, education and experience God has entrusted to you. Are they glorifying to God? Do you need to modify some of them?

Discuss with the Lord your joys, your sorrows and decisions you are facing. Find promises and directives in the Bible which you can record.

“The greatest answer to prayer is that I am brought into a perfect understanding with God, and that alters my view of actual things.”
~Oswald Chambers

Concluding Your Day with God

Praise and thank God for the fellowship you had today.

Schedule the next “Day with the Lord” in your appointment book.

Share with someone about your day.

by Katherine Kehler
used by permission

FURTHER READING

How to Have a ‘Quiet Time’ with God

Quiet Time with God is like a Date Night – by Max Lucado

How to Pray

The post How to Spend a Day with the Lord appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” Luke 11:1

Leonard Sweet recently wrote (on Twitter):

“When my mother died, I set her Bible on a table and let it open itself. Psalm 91, to my surprise. Where does your Bible open itself?”

I decided to take the fun challenge and let my Bible open by itself. It’s a small Bible because I like to carry it in my purse, so honestly it kept falling over. Finally it opened to Luke 11. Jesus’ teaching on prayer. I read it with fresh eyes. I was struck by verse 8:

“I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.“

Jesus prescribes boldness in our asking. How do I approach God – Am I asking for the world? Am I stepping out in faith, asking for the miraculous? Once I have aligned my heart with God’s purposes, God wants to work through His children as we pray. God wants us to ask for brokenness to be restored, slavery to end, abuse to stop, mountains to move.

Today, let us align our hearts with His and be bold in our asking.

Father, we want Your Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. Today, help me direct my prayers in such a way that Your Kingdom will come through me.

By Idelette McVicker
Used by Permission

Further Reading

•  How did Jesus Pray?
•  Intercessory Prayer Story
•  Salvation Explained

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The post Lord, Teach Us to Pray appeared first on Thoughts About God.