{"id":53229,"date":"2018-11-08T00:20:35","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T06:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prayingpint.com\/?p=53229"},"modified":"2018-11-08T00:20:35","modified_gmt":"2018-11-08T06:20:35","slug":"4-put-what-youve-learned-into-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/08\/4-put-what-youve-learned-into-action\/","title":{"rendered":"4. Put what you&#8217;ve learned into action"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I read this today from Billy Gram and it expressed thoughts on dedicated time with God each day.\u00a0 There is something that always seems more urgent.<\/p>\n<p><i>By Billy Graham<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Several practical guidelines have been helpful to me in maintaining a vital and regular time with God.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>FIRST<\/i><\/b>, set aside time each day to spend time with God. \u00a0It may be early in the morning, or at least before you begin the day\u2019s regular activities. \u00a0Make it a time when you are mentally alert when you have no distractions, and you are not rushed. \u00a0Discipline yourself to keep this time every day, even when travel or a busy schedule makes it difficult. \u00a0Make it such a regular part of your life that you would no more skip it than you would miss eating a meal.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>SECOND<\/i><\/b>, come with a spirit of expectancy and obedience. \u00a0Expect God to meet you through His Word, and tell Him that you want to be taught by Him. \u00a0Come with a willingness to hear His Word and then to obey it. \u00a0Remember: God the Holy Spirit has inspired the Bible, and we must look expectantly to Him to illumine our understanding of it.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>THIRD<\/i><\/b>, read through the Bible systematically. \u00a0It is far too easy to dwell only on familiar passages or skip around almost at random finding passages that happen to appeal to us. \u00a0But we need to understand \u201c<i>the whole counsel of God<\/i>\u201d (Acts 20:27, RSV), and we need therefore to read and study every part of the Bible. \u00a0Some people find it helpful to have a plan by which they will cover the entire Bible in a year.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>FOURTH<\/i><\/b>, read thoughtfully and prayerfully, and then meditate on what you have read. \u00a0Some people pride themselves on covering a set number of chapters each day\u2014but have no idea what they have read when they are finished! \u00a0In his helpful little booklet \u201cManna in the Morning,\u201d Dr. Stephen F. Olford wrote, \u201cRead the portion at least three times. \u00a0Read it carefully to discover what is there generally. \u00a0The next time, peruse it for what is there especially. \u00a0Then study it for what is there personally. \u2026 [Then] say: \u2018Lord, as I look at this passage this morning, is there any command to obey? \u00a0Is there any promise to claim? \u00a0Is there any new thought to follow and\u00a0pursue? Is there any sin to avoid? \u00a0Is there any new thought about God? \u00a0About the Lord Jesus? \u00a0About the Holy Spirit? \u00a0About the devil?\u2019 Seek to discover what God is saying to you from the passage you have read.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b><i>FIFTH<\/i><\/b>, make prayer a central part of your time with God. \u00a0In our Bible study, God speaks to us; in our prayer times, we speak to God. \u00a0Make prayer first of all a time of praise and thanksgiving. \u00a0Then pray about the passage of Scripture you have just read, asking Him to show you specific ways that it applies to your life. \u00a0In addition, confess your sins to God. \u00a0Finally, bring before God your own needs and the needs of others. \u00a0Many people find it helpful to keep a prayer diary, in which they list those for whom they are praying and note God\u2019s specific answers.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>FINALLY<\/i><\/b>, put what you have learned into action, and walk with Christ every minute of the day. \u00a0Perhaps God has been speaking to you in your quiet time about your relationship with someone in your family or a co-worker. \u00a0Commit that situation into His hands\u2014and then move forward in obedience and faith, knowing that the Holy Spirit will help you as you seek to have a right relationship with that person.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I read this today from Billy Gram and it expressed thoughts on dedicated time with God each day.\u00a0 There is something that always seems more urgent. By Billy Graham Several practical guidelines have been helpful to me in maintaining a vital and regular time with God. FIRST, set aside time each day to spend time &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/08\/4-put-what-youve-learned-into-action\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;4. Put what you&#8217;ve learned into action&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-prayers"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53229"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53254,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53229\/revisions\/53254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}