Quiet time with God for the New Year
It’s January 1, 2009–the start of a new year. It’s often a time when people set new goals and resolutions. Often, Christians will start a new Bible reading plan. Maybe it’s to read through the entire Bible in a year, or maybe it’s to read the New Testament in a year.
There are a variety of Bible reading plans out there. Here are a few:
Also, it’s a good time to get into a new habit of spending daily time with God through journaling and meditating on God’s word.
Our church recently gave its members a new prayer journal called Conversations with God. (You can download the PDF from this link.) It encourages people to start journaling and dedicating time each day to meeting with God. I believe this is essential in your walk with God. It has been a pivotal experience for me in my journey. In fact, this blog is a direct result and expression of that daily experience with God.
Tom Lane lays out the structure for his daily connect time with God:
- Scripture Reading
- Scripture Meditation
- Journal
- Praise and Thanksgiving
- Commitment and Surrender
- Needs and Requests
- Blessing
- What is God saying to me?
To give you an exmaple of what this format would look like, I decided to post my January 1, 2009 journal entry.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 1 (reading through the New Testament in 2009)
Scripture Meditation
Each year, I have a scripture for the year. For 2009, it’s Philippians 3:12-14:
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven” (Philippians 3:12-14).
You can also use a scripture that you read in your daily reading program.
Journal: Praise and Thanksgiving
Lord, I am so utterly grateful and thankful for you. So much. So, so much. You have done great and mighty things in my life. And, I so appreciate that. It’s truly wonderful, Father. Truly. Lord, the anticipation of what you’re wanting to do in my life, in my family’s lives gets my heart pounding and my mind spinning. So many wonderful things!
Father, thank you. Thank you that I don’t have to live this life alone, clueless, directionless, protection-less. You are there to guide me, to watch over me, to protect me, to save me. You keep my feet from stepping into danger. You guide my thoughts and guide me down the safe path. My roots go down deep into you, and I trust you. You are my life.
Thank you, Father!
Journal: Commitment and Surrender
In today’s “Reminders from God”, there is a great message from the “Two Listeners”. About the New Year, it says, “I hold the year in My Hands in trust for you. But I shall guide you one day at a time. Each day I supply the wisdom and the strength.”
This is a good message. I know this is what you would say to me, Father. You hold the New Year in your hands, and you shall guide me one day at a time, with each day having its own wisdom and strength for that day.
Lord, show me that. Please remind me. Help me remember that, in Jesus’ name!
Lord, I am yours. You are mine.
Journal: Needs and Requests
It’s Thursday morning, a new day, a new morning, a new year, a new month. So many new things. New dreams, new expectations, new seasons. New rhythms, new cycles, new projects, new clients, new opportunities, new friends, new movies, new partners, new productions.
I love the new year. Lord, why is it that I find this new year so exciting? It seems like I’m so driven by achievement, and that I like to achieve and accomplish things. I’m usually not this driven, but I sense that there is something big on the horizon, something exciting! I don’t know what you’re doing, but there’s something there. Something!
Father, guide me into this new year. Show me what you have planned for me and my family. Let your Spirit guide us. Help us to walk with purpose in every step, and to run towards the goal, striving, reaching, persevering. Give us wisdom and strength. Help us draw closer to you because you will be our source.
Journal: Blessings
Lord, I bless my family today. I bless my wife and my son. I bless their health, their minds, their bodies. I bless them with strength and authority. I bless them with wisdom to guide them through this year. I bless them with Godly protection, and a hedge of protection to surround them and keep them safe.
I bless my business. I bless it with exciting, successful projects this year. I bless it with new clients and new projects from current clients. I bless it with financial wisdom, creative ideas, efficient projects, and a team of creative, honest, hard-working people.
I bless all of my new projects this year. I bless the movies, the webisodes, the commercials, the documentaries, the testimonies, the websites, the marketing campaigns and all the new projects that haven’t even crossed my mind yet.
I bless my clients and their business. Grow them. Help them succeed in this down market. Bring them good, solid business, new clients, brilliant employees, new contracts and prosperity.
Journal: What is God saying to me?
Son, I really want you to know that your past is past. The sins are gone. They were gone the day you received Christ into your heart. Cleanse your mind, your thoughts, and wash away the trash that hinders you. Know this, son, I am fighting for you. I am fighting to bless you, to bless your family, to grow your business, to make all your projects a success. Know that, son. Know that I am for you, with you, watching you, guiding you.
The key is that you need to listen. When you do your own thing without consulting me, then I can’t help you. I want to, but I can’t. You have to let me in, you have seek me, you have to seek my counsel based on the rules I have laid down, but when you do, my son, there is great power at your fingertips. Great power! The kind of power that can unleash heavenly angels into the earth for great and mighty things, son.
Another “random” thought?
This week, I had another “random” thought that turned out to be more than just a thought.
A few weeks ago, I purchased some new video production equipment for a project. It wasn’t a big deal, just something I needed to do. The piece of equipment is kind of rare—not everyone has this equipment. There’s probably only two or three in the Dallas area.
This past week, I was on the set of a friend’s production. They are shooting a new web series. And, my friend is using this special piece of equipment. He bought his last year. While I was on set, I had this thought, “I guess with me purchasing this same equipment, he could always call upon me in case there are any problems.” Random thought, or was it?
A couple of days ago, my son and I were driving down to Austin for some business meetings. While driving down, I received a phone call. The caller ID revealed it was my producer friend. That’s odd, I thought. He’s in the middle of production. He shouldn’t be calling me. I hope it’s not about the equipment.
Sure enough, his rare production equipment had broke, and he needed to borrow mine to maintain his tight production schedule. Interesting.
I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people. In fact, most would just call it a coincidence. But, I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe it was that “still, small voice of God” that was simply giving me a “heads up”.
The struggle we all face is how to distinguish which thoughts are mine, which thoughts are God and which thoughts come from the devil. It’s a struggle because they all sound the same. It’s the words, the content that helps us know who is saying it.
Prince of the Air
This past weekend, my wife and I were driving back from a baby shower of a friend. It was a nice peaceful drive. We were talking about our pastor’s message this weekend. He was preaching about how God has chosen to limit himself to our faith, to what we believe. It was an excellent message and right on.
As we were driving, I made this blanket statement, directed mostly towards my own attitude and unbelief. I said, “I wonder sometimes if we don’t see answers to our prayers because we don’t really believe God.” My wife got quiet all of sudden—something was stirring. I realized later that it wasn’t a good stirring.
When we got home, she was very upset with me. I asked her why. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong. (That’s pretty normal for me.) When I made that statement about our prayers not being answered because we don’t believe, here’s what she heard me say, “Angela, it’s all your fault. You don’t really believe when you pray. You’re the reason God doesn’t answer our prayers.”
Whoa! Where did that come from? That’s not what I said. Nor was that what I intended. I was speaking totally about myself. Yet, what she heard was a condemning accusation about her faith.
Immediately, I knew exactly where that came from. Ephesians 2:2 calls Satan “the mighty prince of the power of the air.” He has this “gift” to mix up the words we say so that the hearer receives them completely different than what we speak. He can manipulate thoughts and ideas so that when the words come into our minds, we misinterpret them and immediately become offended. It’s an incredibly effective strategy, especially when people are completely unaware of it.
Thankfully, my wife is the kind of person who likes to talk things out (sometimes in gory detail). So, we talked about my comment and my intentions, and she quickly realized that I was not accusing her nor pointing my finger at her faith. It was more about me and my walk with God. Not hers.
Think about your own life. How many times have you said something only for it to be completely interpreted wrong? Or, how about those times when you sense something is wrong with your spouse, and she comes in crying, “You said this and you said that.” And you can’t recall every saying that. The prince of the air is at work.
From Daddy
The other day in my quiet time, I was journaling my thankfulness to God, and he responded with this wonderful message of love, but it wasn’t just for me. I felt like this message was for all of his children, those who call upon Jesus.
When I was writing it down, I found myself cautiously capturing the words; whereas before, I would just enjoy flowing and writing and hearing—mistakes and all. But now, I wanted to be more cautious because others would be reading it.
I don’t like having a “cautious walk with God”. Rather, I want to chase him, pursue him, dive completely into what he wants for me. I don’t mind making mistakes when it’s just me and God. He knows my heart, and I love to just jump into his presence like a three-year old jumping into his daddy’s arms—giggly, slobbering, messy, but madly in love with his Daddy. But now, with other three-year olds on the playground, can I still be that way with my Dad? I hope so.
So, with that, I share my journal entry with you from a few days ago, a little giggly, slobbering and messy:
Today is great day, Father. A great day! I celebrate the life you have given me. It is really, truly blessed and amazing! So amazing! Lord, I have life because you have given me life. You have given me eternal life! Lord, I am so grateful for all you have done and all you are doing and all you will be doing in my life. I can’t say thank you enough. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Son, I appreciate your thankfulness. I really do. I can’t tell you the number of Christians who call me Father who woke up this morning stressed, tired, unthankful—who went off to work like any other day, and never said anything to me. I’m not mad, son. It just breaks my heart, because I love them so much. So much. I just want to spend time with them.
Too many of my children think I bring calamity into their lives to “teach them a lesson” or to get their attention. That’s wrong. It’s not true. Would you take a stick and hit your child, and cause him harm just get his attention? No, that’s stupid. I woo and call and whisper into the hearts of my children. Calamity comes when they go their own way, do their own thing, and take matters into their own hands.
I can’t help a heart that goes its own way. I can only help a heart that is committed to me and listens to me. That’s my greatest desire for my children, to be fully devoted and committed to me. Why? Because I love them and I desire to help them in every area of their life.
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