Pressing In And Moving On

Often times when we approach the Bible or the place of prayer its difficult to get our minds to slow down so that we can interact with the Spirit in us to comprehend the Word. I have found the art of slowing down to be vital in my relationship with the Bible and prayer. Not that I am always able to slow my mind down but over the years I have learned to fix my mind and heart upon the Spirit in such a way that I am no longer thinking about all the things I have to do today and I can be a student before the Creator. There are a few things that I do, and a couple of scriptures that I use to do this. We want to make sure that when we read we don’t treat the Bible like any other book, or just a good story. We want the Spirit of the 66 books to break into our minds in order to transform our hearts, thus changing how we act through our bodies. This is the Word’s purpose in humanity. The role you and I play, is getting our minds to a place where they slow down enough that the Word starts to wash us on the inside.

Psalms 131 and verse 2 says;

“Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

This scripture doesn’t say that his soul just calmed itself, or someone else calmed it, but that he calmed and quited his soul. Some people have told me that this is new age behavior but I strongly disagree. In this fast paced society God hasn’t changed his Nature. It takes time for you and I to unwind before Him so that He can communicate with us. Before I read the Bible I take a certain amount of time and I lay hands on my Bible and I begin to talk with the Spirit. Quietly, I acknowledge Him, I talk with Him like a person. I wait on Him and bring my mind into subjection to Him so that when I read its not in vain but actually produces something in me each time. This takes a little bit sometimes but I try not to move on from here until my mind has slowed down so that I can take in what I’m about to read. I say to The Spirit, “the letter kills but You bring life! Bring life into my mortal body now.” In this process praying in the Spirit if you are Spirit filled is another way that the Spirit breaks into my mind helping me to set my gaze on Him.

I believe that if you are able to slow down your mind in such a way that is allows the Spirit to impart from The Word that your time in the Bible will drastically change. This process begun from a sincere desire to grow in the scriptures and to have a life rooted in the Word of God. I hope that you are able to glean a thought or two and they help you in your own journey. A few more thoughts to come.