JZB

SO far, thru the study, I'm realizing how important it is to pray, that God will speak to me and that He has given me the Holy Spirit who lives inside of me, who is there to guide me, comfort me, to bring to mind what God has spoken to me.

What pattern do you see emerging in Jesus' prayer life? The first thing Jesus did was go to God. Most of time He went by Himself, though a couple times disciples went with Him. Jesus went to a quiet place, away from the business/activity of life. Jesus went to be with God. He recognized He needed God first, before starting His day; He needed God's Word, God's direction, clarity from God before He went out. Why do you think He spends Quiet Time with the Father before the day begins? Jesus knows God; He knows that in order to know what to do, to be clear on His mission, He needed to hear from His Father. The morning, He could be alone before town's people began to seek Him (to see miracles, out of curiosity, etc). He was able to be still and know God's direction. How does this prepare Him for His ministry? Jesus is going out by His Father's direction. Jesus knows God, He listens to God and gets His direction from God. Jesus was willing to be obedient at all costs to His Father, because He knew who the Father was ... that because He knew the Father so intimately He was willing to do whatever, though He did ask God to "let this cup pass" when God's instruction wasn't something He wanted to do. How did the disciple desires for Jesus differ from what Jesus felt impelled to do? (Mark 1:37-38) Why? Do you have a Quiet Time? I have been struggling to sit down quietly early in the morning. I've learned that if I start to do absolutely anything before sitting quietly I'm off and running. Since I started this study, I found a place to go outside and sit quietly with the Lord (in the car). We are in a motorhome (closed space) and I need to be away from everything. Car is perfect. One morning I wasn't feeling so great and wasn't going to go outside. I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me and telling me that this was our time together ... so, out I went. This has become my quiet time with the Lord. I used to just read through the Bible, according to a plan ... then I'd think another plan was better, so I'd switch to that plan. Things got pretty confusing. I have started to listen to a praise song in morning (my phone alarm is Amazing Grace), then grab my coffee and sit quietly in the car, wanting to hear from the Lord. I'm OK if I just sit 5 minutes and writ down whatever comes to mind. A little journaling. Am attempting to read few chapters in OT, some in book of John. What could you do to improve the quality of your time with God each day? I need to ask God for help to keep the commitment I made with Him, to help me be disciplined ... without Him I can do nothing. And I need to lay aside my plans and ask God what He wants me to do that day ... the though just came to mind that I need to ask God, "Lord, what can I do to improve my quality of time with You. And, please help me do it." Once again, without Him I can do nothing (I'm learning that nothing means absolutely nothing.)