What activities do you engage in during your spare time? Are you acting on 2 Timothy 2:15 which says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” First and foremost, as men and women of God, we should crave the secrets of God’s word. There are delectable morsels hidden in its contents. If we are going through our lives sick, depressed, poor and miserable then we are not spending enough time in God’s word. The Word has a cure for every circumstance that tries to hinder us.
We should delve into God’s word each and every day. We ought to have a special time set aside for Bible reading and study. If we do not schedule time with God daily, then we are liable to get sucked into the ebb and flow of our lives. Before we know it a day, a week or quite possibly a month has passed without ever cracking the binding on our most precious treasure. How must Father feel when that happens?
Personal study time is entirely different than Sunday morning service preparation. Studying the word is part of developing a close relationship with Abba Father. How do you get to know someone intimately if you do not pursue a relationship and spend time with them? You don’t! We cannot expect God’s blessings without obedience on our part. The obedience comes through rising early, turning off the television, staying up a bit later, whatever it takes to get to know the God of the word.
Along with our daily devotion and Bible reading are other resources, in the form of Christian development books that are available to assist us in our pursuit of Father. Courtship is all about the pursuit. What can we learn about Father? What can we do to get closer to him?
Tommy Tenney has an excellent book entitled, Finding Favor with the King. The book discusses Esther and how she was able to find favor with King Xerxes. Esther’s experiences with the palace and King Xerxes parallel our experiences with the Throne Room and our Most High King.
Are you aware of palace protocol? Do you know what it really means to enter his Gates with Thanksgiving and His Courts with Praise? Doubtful! Offering thanks to Father for works he has done is the equivalent of standing in the courtyard and yelling out to the king who is in the inner sanctum. He may hear us, but he may not. There is much noise coming from the courtyard. What differentiates your thanks from someone else’s? Try taking a step into the court area. That requires an entirely different manner of approach. Here the praises flow just because of who He is, “Holy, Beautiful, Anointed One, God of all Creation”. The list is endless. There is still more traveling to do before one can actually enter the most sacred place, the room where the presence of the great king resides. What does it take to get here? True worship! It is here that intimacy is born and great secrets are discovered.
Personal study and prayer time combined with genuine praise and true worship can lead to the discovery to priceless hidden treasure!