Devo time!

I like to call my devotional time with God "Devo Time." Some people call it "Quiet Time". Whatever you call it, it needs to happen in order to stay in a listening relationship with Christ. In that devo time, I follow the acronym ACTS as a guide. "A" stands for "Adoration." "C" stands for "Confession." "T" stands for "Thanks." And "S" stands for "Supplication."

One thing I've been doing in the last year or so for "Adoration" is following the book of Psalms in the Bible. I read and journal a Psalm that coincides with the day of the week. For example, today is June 17, so I read Psalms 17. When I get to the end of the month, I just move onto the next higher Psalm. For example, June has 30 days so on July 1 I will ready Ps. 31 and on July 2 I'll read Ps. 32.....

I like to journal the Psalm to fit my life and my praise to God, always turning it back to Him and not to my needs or my wants. For example, today I journaled part of Ps. 17, as follows, which is different from the original language (You'll have to read to compare): "You hear, O Lord, my righteous plea and listen to my cry. You give ear to my prayers. They do not rise from deceitful lips. May my vindication come from you. Your eyes see what is right. You probe my heart and examine me at night." It's all about Him during this time.

That last sentence of journaling that Ps. helped me move into my "Confession" time, of which I'll spare you the details. Then I moved into "Thanks". Who of us in America doesn't have something to be thankful for. "Supplication" or needs/wants or prayers for others should be last because we've first put ourselves in a position of God is God and I am not.

For supplication, I keep a prayer calendar of 31 days that repeats itself every two weeks or so. I have some of the following needs on it: 1. Finances, 2. Friends/Neighbors, 3. My cousin Gregg who is a quadriplegic, 4. Church/ministry involvements/missions 5. Family..... I pray for those needs on the day of the week they're listed. Usually during that supplication time for that specific need, God often prompts me how to pray or to take action regarding that specific need. More often than not, when something comes up on my calendar, it's already something that has been on my heart. In stead of worrying about it I'm prompted to pray about it. God even works through what's on our calendars.

During my prayer time today, the need listed was to pray for friends/neighbors then I felt prompted to Blog about my devo time. I don't journal about it to make my self look righteous. There's many a day I ignore it and miss out on hearing and being used by God. I journal it to encourage you, friend/neighbor, to devote some time to Him. I guarantee he will speak to you and work through you!