how to: simultaneous Bible study, prayer, and scripture memory

I imagine I'm not alone in my struggle to carve out enough time to really make the most of my personal time alone with the Lord. I live in a very hot climate (Thailand) and our days are filled to overflowing with the endless responsibilities involved in running a children's home for at-risk kids, as well as a food ministry and church plant. We go to bed tired and wake up the same.

Which makes rising at 3 or 3:30am to get maximum time with God much more difficult (basically impossible) than it was when we lived in America. But i still want to maximize that time and God has been teaching me how.

Our spiritual lives are very personal and there is no one-size-fits-all formula for one-on-one worship with our Creator. So while I'm going to share what I've been doing lately, it does not mean you are being called to do the same.

There, I feel better just putting that disclaimer out into the world because I want nothing less than I want to create confusion in your devotional life. God may use something I write here to lead you into a deeper experience and He may not. What matters is that you follow Him, not me or us.

first read scripture

I don't do well jumping around the Bible so I like to read one book at a time, one chapter at a time. I enjoy putting on headphones when I can during the day and making my way through the Bible more passively as I listen. But when I read, I do best to go one chapter at a time (some days less when the reading is more intense or harder to understand) and write a synopsis of what God said to me through it.

I utilize cross-references as I read, and from the morning's study, I select a short passage to memorize. Most days it's just a verse or two but often I'll ultimately memorize longer passages as I build on it a little each day. Recently I memorized all eleven verses of Psalm 95 by memorizing two verses a day except for one day where I memorized three. But I also incorporate prayer as I do this. Let me explain how.

grab a piece of paper

I took a piece of paper and sketched out the Sanctuary the Israelites built (obviously a very loose sketch), according to God's specific instructions, as they wandered in the wilderness those 40 years. It looks like this:

1.) You start at the right side of the page at the gate of the Courtyard. There I "come before His presence with thanksgiving" as I offer gratitude to Him for who He is and what He's done. I write these things down each day. I also repeat, or pray back to Him, the verse(s) I'm memorizing that day.

2.) Then I "step" into the courtyard and approach the Altar of Burnt Offering. This is where I confess myself before Him. I ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any and every unconfessed sin that I might lay it down on the altar. I humble myself and confess each one. I again repeat (pray) my Scripture memory verse for the day.

3.) I then move straight ahead to the Laver where I am cleansed of those things which I have just confessed. I ask God to take from me the desire to pick those sins back up and repeat them. Humanity has a tendency to live firmly attached to besetting sins and it's only by the grace of God that we can overcome. So at the laver, or washbasin, I ask to be cleansed of impure desires and sinful addictions. I repeat my Scripture memory verse. This repetition not only solidifies the words in my memory, but also brings the words to life.

4.) Now I am at the door of the Holy Place and I step inside. The Sanctuary is set up with the formation of a cross and so once inside the Holy Place, you "step" to the left in the arms of the cross, And you are at the Lampstand. It is here that I ask for the Holy Spirit to fill me. All of life operates on what might be called the replacement principle. Meaning when we lay down our sins and ask to be purified of them, we need to replace that space within us with Christ or the dirt and evil will slide right back in. So when we ask for this baptism of the Spirit, we are asking to be filled so there is no room for evil to take up residence again. Once more, my verse is prayed back to God before I move on.

5.) Now I step across the room to the right arm of the cross. This brings me to the Table of Shewbread. Here is where I ask to be made into the image of Jesus. He is the bread of life, the living water. And He has promised that if we're willing, He'll make us into His image. I claim that promise as I "stand" before this section of the Sanctuary. I repeat my Scripture memory verse. I promise this does not get boring. Each time, the words come to mind more easily and my mind grasps them more fully.

6.) Now I move to the center of the room and straight ahead. This brings me to the Altar of Incense. Here is where I make intercession for those on my prayer list. I utilize my previosuly memorized Scripture verses as I pray for others. I use an app to store the hundreds I have memorized and it has an algorithm that brings each up in turn, just a few every day. As I pray for people, those memorized verses get refreshed so they stay handy in my mind, but they also add power to my prayers because I'm praying directly from Scripture which we know is the will of God. These prayers ascend like incense to the throne of God as I make my way through my written prayer list and only eternity will reveal the power associated with each one attended by the Spirit. I, of course, repeat my verse for the day here, as well, before moving on.

7.) And then I am finally at the threshold of the Most Holy Place. I step in most reverently because this room holds the Ark of the Covenant where the Ten Commandments, the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded are all stored. There are golden cherubim which were placed wingtip to wingtip over the Ark and, if you stop and consider this whole scene, a sense of awe and wonder will likely overtake you. Here I ask God to fit me with the Gospel that I might bring it to those around me. I ask Him to write His law in my heart, to give me contentment with that which He's provided for me that day, and to trust in His divine leading. I repeat my day's verse(s) one final time and invite His Spirit to continue to go with me even beyond this time of quiet communion.

a few last thoughts

A friend sent a document to me with the concept I just outlined. It was written by a lady named, Donna Nicholas. What I love so much about this approach is the daily reminder of the Sanctuary because it points me to Jesus and what He did for me in a very real and tangible way. I love the incorporation of Scripture memory into my worship experience because the Holy Spirit brings those verses to me throughout the course of my days. Sometimes as I pray for something or someone, and other times as I'm simply discussing something.

For me, the most effective way I have ever found to pray was to be walking. And so while I actually haven't started back to doing that since returning to Thailand, I plan to do so this week. I just need to get up a smidge earlier to make time for it because I meet up with my husband and two oldest girls to run each weekday morning around 5:30.

Once the Sanctuary design is firmly in the mind, this approach can be made very personal and can look a variety of ways. I will be walking while going through these steps (after the Bible Reading/Study portion and once I've written out those things I'm thanking Him for) and I expect it will be just as powerful. The beautiful thing is God will meet us in a myriad of different ways, so long as it is Him we are truly seeking.

The important thing is that you make your experience personal between you and Him.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Would it be helpful if we made a video walking through this process? We'd love to hear ways in which you have effectively met with God ... you never know how what you share might positively impact the experience of another.