A DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT by Pastor Phil
Psalm 18:5-7
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.
For today’s devotional thought I want to try something different. Rather than sharing with you the thoughts that God impressed on me from scripture, I want you to develop the thoughts God has impressed directly on you through his word. To do this, we are going to use a short passage from Psalm 118 that is printed above.
Here are the steps I invite you take.
1. Prepare yourself: Find as quiet and comfortable a spot as you can. Close your eyes and quiet your mind. Breathe in and out slowly. Focus on your breathing and not on distractions. After moment pray as you breathe. As you breathe in say something like: “Lord speak to me” and as you breathe out: “through your word.” You may even want to repeat that prayer a few times as you breathe allowing God to draw your focus on him and his word.
2. Read the verses.
3. Ask yourself: What seemed to jump out at me as I read? Don’t analyze why at this point, just be aware
4. Read the verses again, maybe even out loud. Our mind seems to process things a little differently when we speak the words out loud. It’s one of the interesting ways God made us. Did anything else catch your attention when you read it the second time?
5. Now ask yourself why those words or phrases may have stood out to you?
What is going on in your life that these words are speaking into?
Is there a promise you need to hold on to, an encouragement you need to hear, an action you need to commit to taking?
God is speaking to you through these words of scripture. What is it he wants you to hear? And how does that make you feel?
6. Read the passage one more time and allow the words to really soak in.
I hope you will try this exercise and pray that you will hear God’s voice and experience his presence and be strengthened. Amen.
