I was thinking more about 1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18 again. "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. How can we really understand that God is with us in all circumstances?
The only way I know to do that is to be where He is. If you spend each day walking in the world with no conversation with God how would you know He is with you? In that situation you are fed what the world has to say, which is often a distorted perspective, or you are having conversations with yourself that get you nowhere. How do you have conversations with God instead?
We have His Word and we have prayer. God has already given us these ways to communicate with Him. There are many precious nuggets of truth to guide our perspective right on our nightstands or coffee tables. The bible is not for Sundays only. Here is a method that will help you hear better when God speaks in His Word.
Meditate on what you have read. If you just read it and close the book God has not had time to speak into your situation. There are many ways to meditate on a passage. When you meditate on the words you absorb them into your mind. You can start with the guide in the back of your bible to find passages about trials or love or Jesus whatever you are needing to hear. The Psalms are great to meditate on. Read the words then pray through them with your situation in mind. Rewrite them in your own words. Repeat the words with emphasis on different words each time and see how the verse speaks differently.
These ideas came from the book "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" by Donald Whitney. It is a great resource to help us spend more time with our God who loves us and promises to be with us in all things.
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