Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
(Matthew 7:7 NIV)
Did you ever notice that the word question has quest in it? Ever since, my friend, Lynni, pointed this out, I have approached questions with a whole new zeal. I love journeys, adventures and quests. Especially quests that involve words. My favorite kind of quest is searching a trail through the dictionary. I start out looking for the definition of one word, and that leads to another and then another and another. Sometimes, I even get sidetracked by a word that I wasn't even looking for!
Questions lead us in a quest for deeper knowledge and deeper intimacy with Christ. Asking questions helps to sort out what we believe, and searching for the answers prepares us to give a reason for our hope.
In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam Farrel invites us to ask all kinds of questions during our quiet times with the expectation that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the answers. She advises:
Spend a quiet time writing out a list of theological questions that you'd love to know the answer to. Which doctrines do you need to learn more about: eschatology (end times), the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit, baptism, sin or sanctification?
After you've written a list...go to a Christian bookstore to buy a book that will help you study...try asking your pastor what theology books he or she had to read in seminary or Bible college.
Think of questions people who don't know Jesus ask. Make a list and research biblical responses...For example, I have answers to questions like: Why should I wait until marriage for sex? Why should I believe the Bible? What makes Jesus so special? What happens to people who don't accept Jesus? What is heaven like? What is hell like? What does God have to say that will help me be a better parent?
Ask other believers: Why do you still believe, and what has held your faith together all these years? Listen for commonalities.
©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP).
For more devotional books by Pam www.Love-wise.com
To find all the posts for 31 Days of Quiet, click here.
Kel, so nice to see my name here. What a lovely surprise! I love your quest for discovering meanings and etymologies of words. I love words, period. And I love asking the dictionary what words mean. And I love asking THE WORD what He wants from me. Lately, I have been asking Him about next steps. I believe that He has started to reveal some. One thing that I love doing in journal classes is to pose the questions of Jesus (from the Bible) to my participants.......like "Who do you say that I am?" "Do you want to get well?", etc. Jesus used piercing questions to His followers to probe their hearts in precise ways. Sometimes we don't really know what we think or what we want until we answer a direct question. And sometimes we won't seek a quest until we ask ourselves how far we are willing to go to start the journey...or, to finish it! Thanks for this great thirty-one-day series and for your questing spirit. I know I'll always be "on adventure" when you're leading the charge. And a special thanks to my colleague, Pam Farell, for writing one of the best quiet-time books I've ever read. It may be small, but it's mighty!
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Lynni
Lynni- Thank you for passing on this passion for quests and questions in my journal time...so glad you shared the practice of using Jesus' questions as a journal prompt...I had hoped you would mention it, so the readers have even more ideas for their quiet times! Thanks-Kel
DeleteKel - I am going to be going back this 31 day series time and again - it is so rich in adventure with the Lord and his word. So rich!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
kelly