As a believer, it is strictly vital that I remain in God’s word by donating a fraction of my time reading (the Bible) everyday. With Community Bible Study out for the summer, I didn’t know where to start. I tried to adopt practices that seemed to work well for others. Yet, the game of comparison never ruled out in my favor to begin with. With the stresses of work, family, and other responsibilities stockpiling, it appeared as if I could not gather the time. I woke up dreading the day, and went to sleep dreading the events within the day. It was an ongoing cycle leading me to spiritual death. I allowed the littlest to the biggest things, changes in events, and reactions/responses from others alter my mood. I had an idea of how spiritually sick I was, but it didn’t come full circle until I encountered a full day alone, a lazy day some would describe it. I can’t help but recall this single lyric from “Sober” by P!nk
I don’t want to be the girl who has to feel the silence. The quiet scares me cause it screams the truth.
In order the kill the truth of the silence I scrolled through my YouTube feed a clicked on one of the recommended videos, Overview: Psalms by The Bible Project
I picked up my bible and skimmed through the Psalms, which are pretty much prayers and songs petitioned to God. I was intrigued because despite affirmations I have received from others, I have always been insecure in my method of prayer. I never knew the right words to say or felt my petitions ineffective by using the same prayer everyday. These insecurities damped my prayer life.
Today, I still have my insecurities in the prayer approach but I have incorporated a practice that I’d like to share with you.
What You’ll Need: an empty jar, paper, scissors, pen, a small plastic bowl/jar (for discard), and a Bible (of course)
Instructions: Fold and cut the paper into proportionate pieces. Use as much paper it takes to make 150 pieces of paper. If you end up with more than 150 pieces, it is okay. I will tell you how you can utilize them. With your pen, number the pieces of paper 1 through 150 to represent each of the Psalms of the Old Testament and place them in the jar. If you have any extra pieces left over, write “free choice” and place the pieces in the jar.
The Procedure: Everyday you wake up in the morning shake up the jar and pull out a slip of paper. Read the Psalm that corresponds to the number that you pulled over a cup of your morning tea/breakfast. If you have awkward mornings/work schedules, designate a more convenient time in the day to do this. After you read the chosen Psalm for the day, place the numbered piece of paper in the discard bowl/jar.
I have been utilizing this method for a couple of days and it has served me well thus far. There have been times when I could feel the lines of scripture resonating with my spirit and call out to God using the same words of the author in relation to my issues. Danger averted…
Sincerely Marie: The Blog 