by Kaye Johns

If you have developed the discipline of a daily quiet time and discovered the blessing it brings, the pattern described below can lift you to a new level of intimacy with the Master, deepening your daily walk and enriching the hours you spend with Him at the beginning of each day. Keep this page near your Bible and devotional books, and refer to it regularly.

(Based upon material from Experiencing God -- Knowing and Doing the Will of God, by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King.)

1. Rise early. Be unhurried before God.

2. Meet God at a regular place and time each day.

3. Begin with a short prayer acknowledging your love relationship with God, and your dependence upon Him. Review God’s promises.

4. Stand before God in His word for:

• instructions, standards, guidelines for your life (Amos 7:7)
• a fresh word from God
• a cleansing, as His word addresses your sin (Ephesians 5:25,26)
• God’s provision for you in Christ (Colossians 1:27-29; 2:2,3,6,7,9,10). Read portions each day of one of the Gospels until completed -- to know Jesus more thoroughly;
• exposure to the entire counsel of Scripture -- read from the Psalms, Proverbs, Law, Prophets, Letters.

The amount of time spent in the Word depends on what God is impressing on you. There will be times you must not leave until God releases you.

5. Write what the Spirit is teaching you:

• What God says to you, including adjustments necessary for your life.
• Stop and pray about what the Spirit has revealed of His will. Write down any specific prayer response.
• Sensing the magnitude of the word from God, reinstitute and write down your thoughts to align each area of your life with the truths revealed.
• Place the truth alongside your life, mind, heart, will, call, and growth in Christ to see what adjustments you must make to bring every area of your life into alignment with God’s Word.
• Place the truth alongside your relationship with your spouse, your parents, your children, and your daily activity.
• Record any response you must make to incorporate what God has shown you. Review these notes often to hold yourself accountable to the commitments you have made to God.

6. After unhurried time in God’s Word, spend time in prayer. Pray based on God’s Word, about what the Spirit revealed. Go to your regular prayer commitments. End with thanksgiving and commitment, ready to obey.