Slow Down!

Slow down! Sometimes when we read, when we do devotions we read too fast.  You will be reading something, your flipping pages, and next thing you know. You pause and say, "What did I just read?" Sometimes you may even read the same page or paragraph three times.

In today's world our minds are distracted, and sometimes what we have to do is slow down. This is a discipline that can take some practice. 

As a runner, the advice I sometimes receive is not to run as fast as you can all the time. Run most of the time at about 80% or even slower. This way your muscles are not over exerting themselves all the time. Then as your heart and body get used to 80% so that it seems easy, you can speed up. Of course, once in a while, you have to run hard to push yourself forward. But this is not good to do all the time. 

It's the same with reading scripture, sometimes we just need to slow down. This is what we are going to work on over the next few days. 

Today time yourself. This will sound easy but it might surprise you.

Set your phone timer to 10 minutes. 

For the next ten minutes read over  Psalm 61. Read it slowly, think about what you are reading. If you have to read it multiple times. Read it as slow and as thoughtful as you can.

Journal: Spend the next 10 minutes asking yourself these three questions about Psalm 61. 

1. What does God want me to know about this passage?
2. What does God want me to feel about this passage?
3. What does God want me to do about this passage?

Pray: Spend some time asking God to speak to you through this process of slowing down. Think on it in prayer.