By Susie Edgar
When I taught school, I learned that the students would remember something better when they reviewed it daily. Now, that didn’t mean we went over everything they learned each and every day. However, we would continually go back over some basic skills for a few minutes at the beginning of class. Yes, even in Algebra 1, I would periodically give the class a short, five-minute basic operations drill because if they knew the basics, they could concentrate better on the newer concepts.
You may not think that applies to our spiritual life, but it does. We need to renew ourselves daily and remember what’s important to God. That will help us stay closer to God as well as be prepared to witness or help others along the way. Just as we grow fat and lazy if we don’t discipline ourselves with our diet and exercise, we grow slack and lack the ambition to continue if we don’t study God’s Word regularly and communicate with Him on a daily basis.
The explanation that made me realize I needed to keep the basics in front of my students regularly was that of walking the same area across grass. If you walk several times a day for a few days, a path might begin to show, but it will disappear if you quit walking the same path. However, walking the same path daily and continuing it regularly will cause the grass to stay off the path where it is clearly visible. The same happens to us as we read God’s Word. If we study for two weeks and then quit, it doesn’t stay with us. However, if we continue to study on a daily basis, we will retain it better as well as draw closer to God.
I read my Bible every morning and try to have some quiet prayer time as well. However, that schedule may not work for you. Find what does. The important thing is to continue on a regular basis until it becomes a habit. That’s not to say that you should simply read and pray because it’s the thing to do at that time. You need to crave God’s presence and desire to meet with Him, but it may take a few times of making yourself do it to begin to realize just how much you are getting out of it.
Put in some extra time studying what a particular passage means. Did you read enough to get the entire context? Don’t just read one or two verses and take them without checking what comes before and after. What do the original words mean? I know that the English language has changed greatly just in my lifetime. It certainly has changed since the King James version was translated. Besides checking other, more modern versions of the Bible, you may want to check what the original Hebrew or Greek meant.
Make time for God. After all, He made time and gave His only Son just for us. In fact, He gives us all the time we have, so use some of that time to take a daily walk with Him in His Word. Renew your relationship with Him through prayer. Create a path that doesn’t go away.
Scriptures to read — Isa. 58:2; Acts 17:11; I Thess. 5:18
Prayer — Lord, thank you that I can come to You at any time for any reason. I don’t have to wait to be in church or on my knees or for a certain time of day. You’re as close as a thought. Help me to remember to call on You at all times, whether it be to thank You, to ask You for help, to intercede for someone else or simply to remain close to You. I want Your will done and for You to be glorified in everything. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Respond — Make a special time today for God. Even if you already meet Him every morning or evening or whenever, take a few extra minutes to meet Him at a special time. Ask Him to help you remember to come to Him daily (even if you already do, because our lives do get busy sometimes and we forget), then do it!
— These articles are shared via the National WMA web page blog that can be accessed at nationalwma.org/blogs.
