Knowing God Better In 2023
Knowing God Better In 2023
Knowing God Better In 2023
Knowing God Better In 2023
God gives us His word and prayer so that we will draw close to Him. When we combine reading the Bible with our prayer time, we are communicating with God.
The King of kings desires to meet with you, today and every day. Meeting with God is the highest privilege we have.
In James 4:8, we are told that when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. Thankfully, there are many ways to meet with God — both individually by ourselves and in community with others.
At The Center, we seek to know God and His word better through and in our work, and we accomplish this by meeting with God, together, in community.
However, just like in any relationship, individual time with God is critical to knowing Him better, and the best ways for doing this are praying and studying scripture — His word.
Prayer to Him — Prayer is how we communicate to God. It’s a constant conversation with our Creator in everything we do. Karl Barth, a famous theologian, put it this way, “To be a Christian and to pray are one and the same thing; it is a matter that cannot be left to our caprice. It is a need, a kind of breathing necessary to life.” Talk to God and let him know you want to know him better. Sometimes the best prayer is, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Studying His Word — The Bible is the most direct way God communicates to us, and God’s Word is full of power and relevance for today. If you need somewhere to start, try a gospel like Matthew or John.
Without the Bible, our conversation with God would be completely one sided. Our friend Karl Barth again has an insightful quote on this when he said, “Prayer without study is empty. Study without prayer is blind.” In other words, without the Bible we do not know what to pray, and without prayer we do not know how to study the Bible.
God gives us His word and prayer so that we will draw close to Him. When we combine reading the Bible with our prayer time, we are communicating with God. Hearing from His perfect word allows the Holy Spirit to speak to our spirit. When we do this regularly, our hearts, minds, and actions are transformed more and more towards God’s will — towards being like Jesus!
The simplest way to read scripture is by reading it slowly, consider it carefully and meditate on it. Then begin praying to God and talk about everything that is on your heart.
Tim and Kathy Keller recommend an enhanced way to do this in their devotional on Psalms that can include journaling. The following are their suggestions: Read the text slowly, once or twice, and then ask these three questions.
Adore — What did you learn about God for which you could praise or thank him?
Admit — What did you learn about yourself for which you could repent?
Aspire — What did you learn about life that you could aspire to, ask for, and act on?
Once you have answered these three questions, you have your own meditation. Now, turn your meditation — already categorized as adoration, confession, and aspiration — into a personal prayer. This will take you into the deeper level of wisdom and insight.
Now, you are ready to start your year of devotions. May God give you “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).
Here are resources we recommend starting with The Songs of Jesus, by Tim and Kathy Keller. Many of us who are part of The Center use this devotional daily.
Recommended Resources - Click On Image For Link
The King of kings desires to meet with you, today and every day. Meeting with God is the highest privilege we have.
In James 4:8, we are told that when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. Thankfully, there are many ways to meet with God — both individually by ourselves and in community with others.
At The Center, we seek to know God and His word better through and in our work, and we accomplish this by meeting with God, together, in community.
However, just like in any relationship, individual time with God is critical to knowing Him better, and the best ways for doing this are praying and studying scripture — His word.
Prayer to Him — Prayer is how we communicate to God. It’s a constant conversation with our Creator in everything we do. Karl Barth, a famous theologian, put it this way, “To be a Christian and to pray are one and the same thing; it is a matter that cannot be left to our caprice. It is a need, a kind of breathing necessary to life.” Talk to God and let him know you want to know him better. Sometimes the best prayer is, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Studying His Word — The Bible is the most direct way God communicates to us, and God’s Word is full of power and relevance for today. If you need somewhere to start, try a gospel like Matthew or John.
Without the Bible, our conversation with God would be completely one sided. Our friend Karl Barth again has an insightful quote on this when he said, “Prayer without study is empty. Study without prayer is blind.” In other words, without the Bible we do not know what to pray, and without prayer we do not know how to study the Bible.
God gives us His word and prayer so that we will draw close to Him. When we combine reading the Bible with our prayer time, we are communicating with God. Hearing from His perfect word allows the Holy Spirit to speak to our spirit. When we do this regularly, our hearts, minds, and actions are transformed more and more towards God’s will — towards being like Jesus!
The simplest way to read scripture is by reading it slowly, consider it carefully and meditate on it. Then begin praying to God and talk about everything that is on your heart.
Tim and Kathy Keller recommend an enhanced way to do this in their devotional on Psalms that can include journaling. The following are their suggestions: Read the text slowly, once or twice, and then ask these three questions.
Adore — What did you learn about God for which you could praise or thank him?
Admit — What did you learn about yourself for which you could repent?
Aspire — What did you learn about life that you could aspire to, ask for, and act on?
Once you have answered these three questions, you have your own meditation. Now, turn your meditation — already categorized as adoration, confession, and aspiration — into a personal prayer. This will take you into the deeper level of wisdom and insight.
Now, you are ready to start your year of devotions. May God give you “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).
Here are resources we recommend starting with The Songs of Jesus, by Tim and Kathy Keller. Many of us who are part of The Center use this devotional daily.
Recommended Resources - Click On Image For Link