Spiritual Exercise:“Sit and Listen”
Get your Bible, a journal (or some
paper) and find a quiet spot to sit. You should be able to give at least 30
minutes of uninterrupted time to this exercise (remember to turn the phone
off).
1.
Sit and ask God to show Himself to you and lead your time. Tell Him your
desires to know Him more and hear His voice.
2.
Sit in silence for about 10 minutes. Listen and see what comes to your mind. As
you sit and just think, try to take each thought (yes, even thoughts of noises,
laundry and tasks) and make them a prayer. If the thought nags, write it down
on a separate piece of paper and set it aside for later.
3.
Open your bible and read Psalm 46 twice through (don’t rush, really read it).
4. As
you read through a third time, write down any one, or two phrases or words that
seem to have “jumped off the page”.
5.
Take that phrase or word and ask God about it. Ask Him what He might want to
say today to you through His living word.
6.
Sit and listen.
7.
Write down any thoughts or questions you have after listening.
8.
Read through Psalm 46 one more time, this time stop every verse (or so) and
turn that verse into a prayer. ...i.e. “God, you are my refuge...”
9. Sit
for another few minutes and listen to your mind and your heart. Make any
thoughts into a prayer. Thank God for your time and tell Him your desire to
know Him more.
Spiritual Exercise “God is all Powerful”
Get your Bible, a journal (or some
paper) and find a quiet spot to sit. You need TWO pens today. One regular and
one colored (red? ) You should be able to give at least 30 minutes of
uninterrupted time to this exercise (remember to turn the phone off).
1.
Pick up your Bible and read Exodus 15:1-18. Make Moses’ words your prayers to
God. Say them out loud if that is comfortable, or simply agree and say them in
your heart to God as you read. (*optional: You may want to hand write out this
prayer to God in your journal, praying as you write).
2. Be
physically still and think about the words you just read. Sit for a few
minutes, thinking about who God is... “Highly exalted”, “my strength”, “a
warrior”.
3.
Pick up your journal and write a list of things you are worried about: people,
events, tasks, yourself. Write down every concern that comes to your mind.
4.
After your list is complete, take your hand (drop your pen) and place it over
the list you just made (cover it). Think again on the words you just mulled
over above... “Your right hand”, “power”, “awesome”, “Who O God is like you?”
5.
Read one time through Matthew 6:19-34. Write down any ideas, or phrase, or word
that jump out at you.
6.
Now turn in your Bible and prayerfully read about Jesus in Revelation 19:
11-16.
7.
Say those words a few times out loud, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. Say
them to God. Meditate for a minute on the truth that this is who He is.
“Just sit” with this Truth
for a few moments.
8.
Tell God you trust Him. Confess your sin of worry. Ask Him to help you to know
and trust Him more.
9.
Take your colored pen and write over each “worry” listed: I trust You Jesus!
Each one.
10.
Sit for a minute and think about who God is and ask Him to remind you that all
day today
Spiritual Exercise:“Watch and Listen to Jesus”
Get your Bible, a journal (or some
paper) and find a quiet spot to sit. You should be able to give at least 30
minutes of uninterrupted time to this exercise (remember to turn the phone
off).
1.
Sit comfortably and begin by writing down (I call this “brain dump”) the things
that are swirling around in your mind. ...what are you worried about, what is
concerning you, the things you need to do today?
2.
After you have made your list, set it aside... literally.
3.
Open your hands (on your lap, raised up...you choose) and lift your face upward
(even just slightly).
4.
Take a few minutes to tell God how wonderful He is. Verbally confess and
worship
Him with your words as you tell Him all His amazing qualities. (You can do this
out loud or in your mind...as fits your personality best.)
5.
Pick up your Bible and read Matthew 8 through two times. Read it slowly and
carefully: As your read, try to imagine what it might have felt like, looked
like, and sounded like to be there with Jesus---watching Him, seeing Him,
hearing His voice. Maybe you can imagine you are the sick man or the Centurion
or Peter? Can you picture Jesus face or hear his tone of voice?
6.
Take a minute to jot down quickly anything that strikes you, any questions you
have, and/or any feelings you experience while you read.
7.
Now, choose just one section of
Matthew 8 and read it again. Did one particular section strike a chord with
you? While you read this, ask God’s Spirit to speak to you. What might He be
say to you in His Word?
8.
Write down any phrases or thoughts that come to mind as your read. And, ask
God’s Spirit...
“Why?”
“Why this phrase, Lord?” Sit and listen for a moment. You can write down anything that comes to
mind after you ask God this question.
9.
Sit again with your hands open and surrender to any Truth from God’s word or
Spirit you feel He was whispering into your heart.
10.
Pick up your “brain dump” page and ask God what He might say now to this list,
these concerns.
11.
Thank God for His Word and ask He would continue to show Himself to you today.
Spiritual Exercise “He Sees All”
Get your Bible, a journal (or some
paper) and find a quiet spot to sit. You should be able to give at least 30
minutes of uninterrupted time to this exercise (remember to turn the phone
off).
1.
Sit and open your Bible. Read slowly, prayerfully through Psalm 139. As you
read,
remember
that God’s word is speaking about you, too. This Psalm is written to you, for
you today.
2.
Ask God to guide you, speak to you and to reveal His presence to you.
3.
Set aside your Bible and your journal and sit quietly for a few minutes: while
you sit
mentally
review the last few days. Is there a moment in your last few days that you felt
uneasy,
unsettled, upset about?
4.
Think about that specific
event/moment for a minute (if there are more than one instance, take each one
at a time). While you remember the event ask God to bring your heart front-and-center.
Ask Him to help you “feel” as much as He would allow you to feel about that
moment. What do/did you feel? Anger, Sadness, Guilt, Shame, Frustration,
Confusion,... Write down your feelings.
5.
Still thinking about the hard moment, ask God to show you Himself in that
moment. Where was He then, during it? What was He thinking? What would He say?
Sit quietly and listen, picturing yourself in that circumstance, asking “Where
were you, Lord? What are your thoughts?”
6.
Sit and be still with your thoughts and feelings.
What
might God be saying to you? How do you
respond to the Lord, His Presence, His thoughts?
7. If
there is unconfessed sin that comes to mind, confess your sin and ask God to
heal you and forgive you.
8. If
there is someone you need to forgive, ask God to help you do this and give that
person to God. Pray for God’s blessings on that person now.
9.
Pick up your Bible and read through Psalm 139. Does anything strike you or
encourage you or confuse you? Write it down in your journal and ask God about
it.
10.
Take any thoughts that God might have whispered, any Truth He spoke to you, and
think one more time about that even this last week. As you picture the moment,
speak those words of truth “over” that memory, that event. Think about His
Truth, His face, His thoughts and ask Him to reveal His presence to you.
11. Thank God that He is always with You and ask Him to
remind you of that all day today.
Spiritual Exercise:
What do you want?
Get your Bible, a journal (or some
paper) and find a quiet spot to sit. You should be able to give at least 30
minutes of uninterrupted time to this exercise (remember to turn the phone
off).
1. Sit
for a moment in quiet. Tell the Lord you
are open to Him in this moment. Ask His
to open your heart and your mind to His truth.
2. Take
any swirling thoughts and jot them down---a short “brain dump” on a piece of
paper. Set the paper aside.
3. Open
your Bible and Read John 1: 35-39
4. Sit
quietly after reading and imagine the scene.
Try to picture the disciples, Jesus, the scene… can you see it in your
mind’s eye?
5. Read
the passage a second time through with this image in your head.
6. Now,
take a minute… close your eyes and imagine the scene with you in it. Imagine yourself “following after Jesus”,
“Jesus turning around” and asking you, “What do you want?” Close your eyes now and try this.
7. What
did Jesus look like when he looks at you?
What was his tone of voice? What
are you feeling? …(if you can’t answer
these questions, try it again---with a stance of prayer and imagination---)
8. Write
down what he looks like, what he sounds like, what you are feeling… and---what
is your answer to His question: What do
you want?
9. Write
down: Jesus, I want…
10. Underneath,
write down the answers (there are likely many more than one) that come from
your heart---try to be honest. What do
you want? What do you want from Jesus?
11. After you have answered the question, go back
to the top of the list and look at your wants.
Ask, the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth regarding each “want”. How might Jesus respond to that request from
your heart? What might He say to your
desires…each one? (This is not a moment
for you to judge or condemn yourself… let Jesus respond in Truth to your honest
desires. Your judgment or condemnation
is not helpful. Bring the raw and real
desires to Him, let Him respond.)
12. Can you
close your eyes and picture yourself again… He is looking at you. He asks you what you want… you answer with this/that… He answers you. And, then says, “Come and see.” How do you respond to the Lord?
13. Sit with
the experience and your feelings for a minute.
Respond to Jesus’ Truth over your desires.
14. Go back and
read John 1:35-39 one more time. Tell
the Lord Jesus you want to know His Presence… where He is staying… and
ask the Holy Spirit to teach you, show
you---that you might see Him today more.
Spiritual Exercise:
“Brain Dump”
Get a blank piece of A4 paper and a pen. Find a quiet spot. Give at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted
time to this exercise.
1.
This activity is an opportunity for you to
“dump” out of your mind and heart anything that is weighing or filling it.
2.
Start making a list of things that come to mind…
anything.
a.
It may be thing you need to do--- write them
down.
b.
It may be people you are concerned about. Write their names down.
c.
It may be things you have been thinking of
lately, ideas or possibilities. …
d.
It may be things that have upset you or excited
you…
3.
After you have “dumped” the first things from
your mind, sit for a minute in quiet.
Are there any other things that come to your attention? Write them down.
4.
Somewhere on the paper write a prayer to
God. It doesn’t matter the length.
5.
Fold the paper in half (hiding the things you
wrote). On the newly white paper before
you (the folded paper). Start to make a
list of Truths you know about God’s character.
Who is He? Write a list…
6.
Take a minute to sit with this list of character
traits you know to be true of God.
7.
Pray and surrender all the things “inside” this
folded paper into THIS God’s hands. Tell
Him, if you can, that you give it all to him.
Spiritual Exercise:
Be Still
Grab a timer of some sort.
Get your Bible, a journal (or some paper) and find a very quiet and
comfortable spot to sit. You should be able to give at least 30 minutes of
uninterrupted time to this exercise (remember to turn the phone off).
1.
Set the
timer for 5 minutes. Take all things off
your lap and just sit still for the five minutes. Try to be completely physically still. Don’t
worry too much about the thoughts that come in, and around, your mind. Just remain still for the entire 5
minutes.
2.
Write down one or two sentences about what it
was like to sit still. Was it easy or
difficult?
3.
Open your Bible and read Psalm 46 slowly through
one time. Then read, Psalm 46:10 one
time through again slowly.
4.
Take each word from this one verse and sit with
it in your mind for one minute (pray it back to God and meditate on that word), then add the next word and sit with it: For example, start with “Be”. Sit with this word for a minute thinking on
it in prayer. Then add the next word, “Be
still”. Sit with these two words for one
or two minutes, prayerfully thinking about it.
…”Be still and know”… sit with
these on onward until you finish the verse.
This could take about 15 minutes if done slowly.
Be
Be still
Be still and know
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know that I am God...
Be
Be still
Be still and know
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know that I am God...
5.
Look back at the whole Psalm and ask the Holy
Spirit to show you WHY you can “Be still and trust God”? Write down phrases or words from any verse within Psalm 46 that tell you
why and how this is possible.
6.
Take a minute and tell God what is on your heart
after reading and sitting with this Psalm.
Spiritual Exercise:
“If you are willing”
Set aside at least 30-40 minutes for uninterrupted time in
God’s word. Sit in a quiet place with
your Bible and a journal (or paper) and a pen.
1.
Start
your time with a quiet prayer of surrender to God’s leading. Ask His Spirit to guide and lead you. Tell Him you long to know Him more and to
hear from His heart.
2.
Grab your Bible and read Matthew 8:1-4. As you read, try to imagine the scene that is
being described. Imagine Jesus coming
down the hill with a large crowd following Him.
What does He look like? What do
you hear, feel, smell? Read the whole passage
at least once and imagine yourself “there”.
3.
Write down one or two words or phrases that
struck you in the passage.
4.
Now think of the word “clean” for a minute. What does it mean? Take a few minutes and write down at least
one thing (your list can be longer than “one”…it can be as long as needed) that
you want to be clean from. Is there some
way you feel dirty, or imperfect, or flawed?
In what way do you want to be clean?
5.
Now, with this list in mind, prayerfully imagine
yourself in the position of the leper.
In your mind’s eye imagine yourself kneeling before Jesus. He stops and looks at you. What do His eyes say to you?
6.
Choose at least one thing from your list and
with this in mind, say to Jesus what the leper said, “Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean.”
7.
Sit with this for a minute and write down how it
makes you feel… to be kneeling before Jesus, to be talking to Him, to be asking
this of Him.
8.
Ask Him what His response to you. Jesus,
what would you say to me? Holy Spirit of God help me to know Your response. Write
down what you think you might be hearing.
9.
Flip in your Bible to Romans 7:21- 8:4. Read these verses through one time
slowly.
10. Think
about these words in light of your experience in your imagination.
11. Write
a prayer in response to God and His word to you today.