We need to study the Word of God, pray, and spend time praising and worshipping God during our quiet times. Sometimes we get in a rut and do the same thing the same way every day, and it can get boring.
If you're bored with something, you're less likely to do it. We can have creative times with God so our quiet time doesn't get boring, but rather it stays fresh and new. You'll have fresh embers and fresh coals to put on your fire in different ways.
First of all, pray for different things. Don't just go down your prayer list, "I pray for this, and this, and this. Whew, I'm done! I'm outta here!" Pray specifically, and pray for things that don't necessarily benefit you.
Pray for God to bless other people. Pray for someone else's ministry, someone else's youth group, someone else's church, and someone else's problems. You'll be amazed at what will begin to happen in your own life when your prayer time consists of more than your little wish list. It's a time to get to know God and let Him stir your heart for others.
Secondly, have creative times of worship. To me, worship is the essence of our encounter with God.
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name" (Ps. 100:4).
There's only one way to get into the courts of the Lord, and that's with thanksgiving and praise. It's not by offering a sacrifice of goats and lambs, but by the sacrifice of praise. Before Jesus came, the only way the priests could enter the Holy of Holies was to offer certain animal sacrifices. But Jesus is our sacrifice. The work He did on the cross was done so we could enter into God's presence wherever and whenever we want.
Have sincere times of creative worship. Don't ever sing a song for the sake of singing a song. Don't let it just come out of your lips and not from your heart. Sing songs that stir your heart and inspire your soul - and sing them to Jesus. Take some of the Psalms and read them to the Father like you wrote them to Him.
I can't wait for a worship service in heaven. Revelation 4 tells us about the 24 elders on their faces before the throne of God. They are so stunned by God's presence, they can't even stand up. They're so awestruck they can't say anything but, "Holy, holy, holy..." for the first million years!
Find ways to study the Word of God differently. It's like we talked about yesterday - you can study topics, themes, and people, but your ultimate goal is to find out who God is and what His character is. If you don't know what to study, ask the Lord to show you.
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