Devotions Drilled Down: How a Bible study teacher manages her quiet time

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Today I’m featuring one my real-life mentors and Bible study teachers, Kim Lenon of Inside Out. I first met Kim when we moved to Pittsburgh and I attended one of the many weekly Bible studies she leads for women in our church and community. This year, Kim led a self-written study at my house of Christ’s ‘I AM’ statements in the book of John.  I love many things about this lady – her love for babies, her passion to see women grow in their walk with Christ, but most of all, her love for abiding in the depths of God’s Word.

 

Here’s how this veteran Bible study teacher and grandmother of five manages her personal devotions.

What does your quiet time look like?
My quiet time can be a verse or portion of Scripture I am working on for a lesson, and I focus on that in reading, journaling and prayer. But one thing I have to remember is my lesson and preparation does not take the place of a quiet time.

I like morning best with my coffee, Bible, a devotional book if using one and my journal. It can look different from day to day depending on what I am using, learning or working on in my own life.

How do you get started?
I begin with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to teach me as I read and seek truth from Scripture. I read the verses through several times, then write what they are saying in my journal or notebook.

If there are words or phrases that jump out or I want to know more about them, I look them up in a Bible dictionary and cross reference them. I then write what I learned, what changes I need to make, or what has encouraged me and praises to God, and sometimes times a prayer. I close in prayer.

[pullquote style=”right” quote=”dark”]…one thing I have to remember is my lesson and preparation does not take the place of a quiet time.[/pullquote]

What are you currently using for your quiet time? 

If there is an area of my life I need to grow in, I spend time in Scripture, prayer and journal to work through it. This year as I was praying about an area I needed to grow in, God showed me to focus on prayer. I got a list of the prayers in the Bible and will use that for my quiet time from time to time. I will pick that passage and work through it as above.

How do you feel about using devotionals?
Good devotionals are helpful and can be used for focus, consistency, and where to read in the Bible. Some I have used in the last couple of years are:

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• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers.
• ESV Chronological Daily Bible (click here for a reading plan)
• Morning by Morning and Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
• Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy by Paul David Tripp
• Comforts from Romans: Celebrating the Gospel One Day at a Time by Elyse Fitzpatrick (just finished it, so good!)
• The Lord Devotional Series by Kay Arthur

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How do you battle discouragement if you fail to have a quiet time?

One tip is that we be as consistent as we can but not beat ourselves up or think our day is ruined if we didn’t have quiet time. The more we are in the Word, God brings it to our mind to think on during those days. Also, putting on praise music helps return our thoughts, praise and payer to Him.

You can connect with Kim on her blog and Facebook page!

And be sure to come back tomorrow for more of the Devotions Drilled Down series.  Tomorrow I’m giving you a sneak peek into the quiet times of new mommies and the bloggers behind When You Rise and Gracelaced!  And before you leave, check out the first post in this series –Devotions Drilled Down in Five Steps. 

For info on the links in this post, click here.