Familiar routines are woven throughout our days. We start with coffee, the news, exercise, or a walk. We shower, brush our teeth, do our hair and makeup, and rush out the door.
Quiet time is often a part of our routines, too, whether in the early morning, later in the evening, or anywhere we can squeeze it in between. Some days we can't squeeze it in at all despite our best intentions.
A routine for our quiet time focuses our thoughts and gets us started on autopilot.
A study time can be DEEP and still be easy. My DEEP formula for Blessed Quietness study follows four stages.
D - Devotional - selected reading
E - Explore – further Bible Study
E - Express – journaling your discoveries
P - Prayer – listening prayer as you allow God to speak to you through the time you've spent
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D is for Devotional
Today's post covers the beginning of Blessed Quietness. First, come to this time with Lord expecting His Spirit to
open the eyes of your heart to His Truths, asking in prayer for Him to focus
your thoughts. Using the devotional reading of your choice, read the selection for the
day, making note of any themes and verses that speak or stand out to you.
Read it a second time, more slowly this time. Sometimes the first reading doesn't catch recurring themes or key words that you see this time.
Take note of whether or not you sense the reading speaking to anything particular in your life or current studies.
Don't think you have to limit yourself to one devotional. I often read from two daily devotionals, or I read a chapter of a devotional or inspirational book.
Some days a quick devotional reading is all we can manage, and that's OK. Other times we can't even squeeze that into the day, and that's okay. There's grace for that, too. For me, the more time I've managed to spend, the more my heart longs to make room for more -- and still, I miss days.
Join me tomorrow as we look at further exploring what we've found in our devotional through Bible study.
If you'd like to go DEEP in your quiet time, sign up for the Blessed Quietness newsletter and receive a free Blessed Quietness Journal printable that you can start using right away in your devotional moments.
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