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7 Ways to Saturate Your Life with Scripture

FaithAmanda Walter | Maple Alps7 Comments

If you’ve chosen to read this post, chances are you have met or are one of those Christians who aim to read the Bible every year. Bible reading plans are often printed out and laid next to our reading areas, but somewhere around February (Or 1 Chronicles - whichever comes first), the boxes stop getting checked off. The important thing is you tried, and you realize the importance of reading God’s word. But don’t let the discouragement stop you.

Since this is not a post about why you should read the bible, but rather how you can saturate your life with scripture, I will not go deep into that topic.

Just know that the Bible is literally God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and is God’s very word to us! It’s His love letter and His guidance for our lives, and the very key to knowing who God is.

Reading the Bible guards against false teaching, changes our hearts to be more like Christ, challenges us in every way possible, and is for each of us.

I would say that is reason enough! So how can we saturate our lives with Scripture and keep God’s word in our hearts? I am sharing 7 practical ways that have helped me personally. Please stay till the end and tell us in the comments how you practice keeping scripture in your hearts!

Saturate Your Life with Scripture | www.maplealps.com

 

Set aside times every day

I’ve caught myself go a whole day without stopping to read the scriptures. Don’t let this be you! Set timers to wake up early in the morning. Set alarms to remind you to read before bed. Whenever you feel you want to spend time in the Word, do it - but it helps to create habits. We are, after all, creatures of habit.

 

Don’t just Read The Bible - Study It

In this fast-paced world, it’s tempting (and unfortunately common) to read fast just to say we’ve done it. Resist! Take your time. Don’t just read the Bible. Study it. For more on how to study the Bible, check out this post here.

 

Memorize Scripture

“Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”

Take time to memorize scripture. It will make it easier to resist temptation and help you discern what is good in your life.

 

Use Scripture Art in your home

Sure, you could keep some sticky notes on your bathroom mirror, but you could also try putting up framed verses on your walls to make it pretty. Display your favourite scriptures all over your home in sweet, attractive ways.

 

Listen to an Audio Bible

This is a fantastic thing to do, especially when you have a long commute. The Bible itself talks about the “hearing” of the Word, so I think this fits quite nicely. Sometimes you will hear something that you missed while reading, and when you go to read it later, it will be reinforced by what you heard. You can even find audio Bibles that are dramatized or read in an engaging way if you’re afraid it will put you to sleep.

 

Share God’s Word

Don’t hide your light under a bushel! Share what you have learned with others! This not only spreads the Good News but also reinforces what you have already learned. You never really know something until you tell someone else. That’s probably why my friend in medical school tells me all about the things she learns before a test now that I think about it …

 

Pray through Scripture promises

I talked a little bit about this before, but pray through Scripture promises! The Bible is full of promises for us to claim. Once I became aware of this, I couldn’t stop seeing them every time I picked up the Bible! God has so much He wants to bless us with - all we need to do is humbly ask!

 

 

How do you saturate your life with Scripture?


 

7 Ways to Increase Your Prayer Life

FaithAmanda Walter | Maple Alps28 Comments

"It is possible to move men, through God, by prayer alone." - Hudson Taylor
 

"Why pray? Why love? We might as well ask, why breathe? One is as natural and necessary as the other. Where there is love, there is communication, there is prayer. It could not be otherwise." - M.L. Andreasen

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Record Your Prayer Requests and Answers

I love recording my prayer requests and answers. Just looking back at them and remembering, helps me be hopeful - especially when I’m going through a difficult situation. I know that God has led me in the past, and He has my present and future. The Bible is full of references about remembering, and this is one way I can look back and praise God for His leading.

 

Pray In Your Free Time

Find and down time in your day and use the opportunity to pray. I have a 30-minute commute, and I have started using that time to pray. It has drastically enhanced my prayer life, and it has become more natural for me to just start talking with God as I go through my day.

 

Pray When It’s Quiet

In Mark 1, it describes how Jesus rose long before the sun even had risen and went to a solitary place to pray. As we are called to be like Jesus, I take my example from Him. I have found that when I rise early for prayer, there is such a quiet and a calm and I can really focus on my time with the Lord. My whole day goes by smoother as well.
 

Make It A Habit

Be intentional about making time for prayer. Set alarms if you need to, but be consistent. I know that some people may think this may be legalistic, however, it is far from that. We schedule times to exercise, eat and wake up and work, and these things all eventually become habits with time. Why should prayer not have a special place in our day? Prayer is the breath of our spiritual life - without breath, we are dead.

 

Get A Prayer Partner

Find someone to share and pray with.

“There is unusual power in united prayer. God has planned for His people to join together in prayer, not only for Christian fellowship, spiritual nurture, and growth, but also for accomplishing His divine purposes and reaching His chosen goals.” (Wesley L. Duewell, Mighty Prevailing Prayer, Zondervan, ©1990, page 123.)

 

Write Down Your Prayers or Pray Out Loud

I used to find myself very distracted in my thoughts when praying and started physically writing out every word of my prayers in journals. I then also found that praying out loud was a great help. If your mind is wandering during prayer, why not try one of these methods?

 

Pray and Claim Scripture Promises

God has given us literally thousands of promises in His Word! They were given to us to claim in faith! Write them down and take them with you, or even better yet, memorize them so they’re always in your heart