Karen Zerby
By Maria ML #3568 11/05
My dear Family‚
1. You're each so precious to me! Here's a big hug and kiss for each of you! Quality Word‚ what a subject! As I said in the first Letter in this series, working to build a consistently strong Word life is a life–long effort. We'll probably always have some fine–tuning and tweaking to do, not to mention stirring ourselves up, in order to keep the Word alive and fresh.
2. But in all our trying, it pays to remember what our goal is. Every time we get in the Word and sit at Jesus' feet to learn of Him, our objective should be to know Him better, to understand His ways, and connect with His Spirit. It's about full possession and living and breathing the Word (see Link 2, ML #3546:38-39). And the master plan behind it all is that we will become disciples‚ witnessers, soul winners, and miracle workers who shine brightly with His light both now and in the days to come.
3. How much of His light and power we have stored in our hearts directly affects how bright our lights will shine in this world's darkest hour, and how much He will be able to use us to reap the harvest in those exciting days. Isn't that an inspiring prospect? I pray it helps motivate you to keep striving for the very best in your Word times.
Love and prayers in our loving Word-giver,
Mama
4. P.S.: These messages from the Lord were received as personal answers by some of you, when asking Him how you can do better in the area of getting quality Word time every day. So there is a lot of variety in the answers and not every answer will apply to you. But as you study and meditate on the Lord's counsel here, I believe you will find portions that work for you, and that might be just the help you need if you feel that your Word time is lacking, or encouragement to continue keeping your Word habits strong if you're presently already doing well in this area of your life.
(Excerpts of counsel received in answer to the question: "Please tell me how I can make my times with You and in the Word better quality time. What concrete steps can I take to ensure that I'm applying and absorbing the Word?" Note: All of the text from this point on, unless otherwise noted, was given by Jesus in prophecy.)
Pray and take the time to connect
5. One of the best ways to get the most out of your Word time is to start it with prayer. Prayer before Word time is like foreplay before lovemaking. It can put you in a more receptive mood and spirit than if you'd just picked up the Word and started reading.
6. It's the same with hearing from Me. You'll be much more receptive if, before you start, you take a few moments to get quiet, to empty your heart in prayer, and then get ready for Me to speak. The same things you do to get in the mood for hearing from Me in prophecy will also work before hearing from Me through My written Word. These things can include prayer, praise, singing or listening to a song about loving Me, etc. These help to put your heart and spirit in a quiet and receptive mood so that you're ready to receive from Me whatever I desire to give you.
7. While it's good to take Word time whether you feel like it or not, the way to get the most out of it is to make a personal connection with Me before you even get started. As David said about prayer: "You've got to get not only in prayer, but you've got to get in the spirit." The same holds true for My Word. You can't just get in the Word—you have to get in the spirit first for that Word to do the good it needs to, for it to be quality feeding, and for you to get out of it all that I have for you.
8. So take some time to get in the spirit first, whether by listening to a song, praising Me, singing in tongues, hearing from Me before you start‚ speaking words of love to Me, or whatever it takes. Then, once that connection is made, once that conduit is open, you will be ready to receive all that I have for you.
9. It has become a neglected art in your personal life to pray before your Word time. There are so many good prayers in the Bible about the Word, the classic being, "Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law" (Psalm 119:18).
10. The Word is spirit. The natural man can't just sit down and start reading and expect it to fully become a part of him. It's a transformation that needs to take place in the spirit. So you need to make sure to open all times of reading with good prayer. It needs to be a quality prayer if you want to have quality time in the Word. It needs to be heartfelt, truly expressing your desire for key power to assist you as you read, so that you will understand the Word, that it will come alive to you, that it will become a part of you.
11. Without the spirit they're just dead words on a page. But with the spirit, they are Me—they are the embodiment of My very Person. That's the object of the opening prayer—to help those words become more than ink on a page, more than little toner spots on paper; to help them transform into the spirit and life of the God of the Universe!
12. (Question: ) In this prophecy, You said "Without the spirit they're just dead words on a page." You have always encouraged us to read the Word even if we didn't feel like it or didn't seem to be getting anything out of it‚ because the Word never returns void. How does this statement fit in with what You've said in the past?
13. (Jesus:) It's true that the Word never returns void. If you read it and it comes in contact with your spirit, it will affect you for good in some way. My point in this passage is that if, for whatever reason, you're not absorbing those words, if you're not fully taking them in, then you won't get much out of them. I'm not contradicting all that I've said about the Word affecting you even if you're force-feeding. I'm making a different point—that if you don't prime the pump and try to focus and absorb, it will not be quality Word time, and you'll get little from that time.
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14. Never start your Word time without a desperate cleansing prayer‚ rebuking Obstacon and Pan and the other demons that fight the Word. Then make it a goal for yourself to never go through a session of reading the Word without pulling out at least one exceptional quote that speaks to you personally. This makes you search and dig through what you read and makes you question if what you are reading is really feeding for you. It also prevents you from just reading the Word with your mind or your eyes, while your spirit is gone somewhere else and not getting fed.
Pan is the arch demon whose aim is to gain control over the mind. He is the enemy of faith, one who actively seeks to cloud the mind, to bring up doubts, questions, analyzing, distortion, complexity, confusion, anything that would stand in the way of simply taking in the Lord's Words in childlike faith and belief.
15. One other thing you should do when you take your Word time is take any questions that you have to Me right then and there. Divide your daily hour and a half of Word time so you get an hour of Word and a half-hour of prophecy time. That is My personalized plan for you.
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16. (Mama:) As I was working on this Letter‚ someone in WS sent me the following prayer list that the Lord gave her to use in her prayers before her Word time. She had asked the Lord for a written prayer, but He explained that He didn't want her to use a written prayer and thus pray the same prayer each morning, as it would become repetitious. He instead gave her a list of points to include in her prayer, so that each day she would stir herself up to pray for these things in her own words. Here's the list the Lord gave:
Word time prayer list
1) Begin with words of love and praise to Me.
2) Rebuke the influence of Pan and his implets. Bind the power of Obstacon, Apotheon, Arakan, Lethargy, Oplexicon, and all of the other demons of Hell that fight your Word time.
3) Call on the power of the keys of imprisonment to keep the Enemy from disturbing your time with Me.
4) Call on Styrian‚ Arcos, Lucerne, Michael and the Chiefs [and the Lord named two of her personal spirit helpers here as well], to help you in tuning in to your Word time and fighting against the Enemy and his demons who will try to distract you from your time with Me.
5) Tell Me how much you want to receive and be fed by My Word.
6) Tell Me that you need these words more than anything else.
7) Ask Me to keep distractions and detours away from your Word time, so that you can stay in the temple for your full time of Word and thus receive a complete filling from Me.
8) Close your eyes again and just focus on My Word, how you're entering into the temple in spirit and how much you need My Words.
9) Claim key promises on Word time.
10) Praise Me for the gift of My Words, the spirit helpers I have given to aid you‚ and the chance to sit at My feet and learn of Me.
11) Claim a few key promises for your time of hearing from Me and praising Me.
Apotheon: Demon who, as the Lord has said, "goes about the earth to and fro amongst the children of men weakening and undermining faith, courage‚ and hope; seeking always to press down, to push down, to oppress, to cover the eyes of those who would turn them upward toward Me where there is light, hope, and growth, and where there is always forward movement" (ML #3400:178).
Arakan: Chief demon of confusion and depression. Confuses, fights concentration and focus, and then brings on discouragement and depression as a result.
Lethargy: A demonic spirit who lulls people to sleep.
Oplexicon: A demonic entangler who opposes the answers of God and denies the truth.
Styrian: A good spirit who is the opposite of Lethargy‚ and when she fights him, he vaporizes. She is a whirlwind of positive spiritual activity.
Arcos (Arcothon): A conduit of the power of God, who teaches us the art of spiritual warfare and to be conduits of the power of God.
Lucerne: A light bearer with great love, mercy and purity—the Lord's counterpart to the darkness of Satan's depression. Helps us to rise above depression and helps us discern our thoughts—the right and wrong paths our minds should and shouldn't follow.
Michael (archangel) and the Chiefs: Michael and a special band of angels: Senior officers of the Heavenly Angelic Forces‚ "the highest in rank when it comes to casting down the devils that fight the Words of the Lord" (ML #3443:82).
Keys of imprisonment: The Lord gave us the key promise: "As you call on the keys of imprisonment, I will lock the doors and bind the power of Obstacon and all those who obstruct the flow of My Word in your hearts, minds, and spirits. The keys of the Kingdom bind all the power of the Evil One." He then explained: "When I ask you to call on the keys of imprisonment, this has a dual meaning. Some of these lesser demons can indeed be cast out and bound elsewhere, whether it be in the depths of the sea or the heart of the earth, where many are prisoners already. For others, when you use the keys of imprisonment, you lock the doors around yourself or around others, so that demons cannot enter to harass you and hinder your work. In a manner of speaking‚ you imprison yourself in a force field which is impenetrable to the attacks of these evil ones, or erect an invisible wall in front of them when they would come toward you. It is much like you act out in your box skits, where the unwary person bumps into an invisible wall when he goes the wrong way. Thus it is with unwary demons who would come your way when you are protected by these keys—they run smack into an invisible wall, or a very visible fireball‚ if need be!" (ML #3434:16).
"The temple": Father David wrote about a vision he had of a spiritual "temple" which represents a place of communion with the Lord. "I see a vision of a group of people under a dome in a big central room. They're all looking up, like they expect something. ... They're bathed in a beautiful golden glow from above, and they take deep breaths of the heavenly air that descends on them. It's the Lord's temple. We wouldn't worry and fret so if we spent more time with the Lord, looking up through that starry dome, breathing that heavenly air, and hearing that beautiful music. We'd find peace and rest for our soul. It would totally renew us and refresh us and give us new vision and fresh inspiration, new strength‚ rest and peace and joy" (excerpt from "Temple Time," in God Online, a Mountain Streams book; ML #191, Vol.2 or DB5).
Studying and absorbing the Word: Quality time
17. It's true that just taking in the Word will make a major difference in your life—but once it's in, what are you going to do with it? Making quote collections from it is important, because you need to keep reminding yourself of the important principles and rereading significant sections so that they are drilled into your mind. Some quotes you will memorize, but whether you do or not, reading them over and over [or listening to them on audio or via MP3 files] will gradually make them a part of you.
18. It's a principle of My Word and My Spirit that as you fill your heart and mind with it, My Word will begin to make a difference in your life. It is not a work of the flesh. You cannot do it on your own, so let My Word do it for you and to you. You just take it in, drink it in, absorb it.
19. As you read and reread certain quotes, take time to ask Me why this quote is significant to you, and how I want you to apply it in your life. In every quote I bring to your attention, there is something I want to speak to you about. There is some way you can and must act on it. Sometimes I can tell you with just a word or two, or sometimes even by reminding you of something that you read in My Word before, a verse, or a song that shows you how to incorporate the principle you're reading about into your life. Sometimes it will be a little longer message that you need to write or type out to remember. As you associate the different quotes and points you read with the personal message I give you about it through prophecy, the Word will stick more in your mind and in your heart. It will begin to affect your soulitude,* and you will see a change in your life.
20. Take time after you read something to go through the quotes you have marked and turn your heart and thoughts to Me so that I can tell you what it means for you personally.
*Soulitude:
(Dad: ) Learn to focus your thoughts, focus your prayers, focus your spirit‚ focus your mind, focus your soul, focus your whole "soulitude"! What is soulitude? That's soul plus attitude—your whole being—your soulitude! Focus it on the Lord‚ focus it on the power, and then shoot that prayer beam with pinpoint accuracy and blast the Devil to bits, blast the sickness to bits, blast the Enemy to bits, blast the problem or the obstacle to bits! (ML #3433:396).
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21. You wonder why you feel uninspired sometimes, or a little listless, or even bored with your work? It comes from shallow swimming in the Word. It comes from not diving deep into My Word and spending more time there. You need to become not just a deep swimmer‚ but a deep-sea diver in terms of time spent in My Word.
22. Seek Me more fervently for what I want you to do each day. Delve deep into the Word and think of it as not just Word time, but your calling, your responsibility to know the Word, to be filled with the Word‚ to be an expert in the Word. The more you get into it, the easier it will be. The more you study, the more you will desire to study, and the more you will retain and absorb.
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23. The key to anything being quality time is to ensure that there's nothing else standing in the way of your focus or concentration. There are many things that come into play when the Enemy is vying for that special time we have together.
24. Almost anything can pull you away from My Word—not because you don't want to have Word time‚ but because you're so used to having two, three, or more things going at once, that sitting still and quiet gets on your nerves a bit. It almost makes you feel jittery‚ as if you need to be doing at least one other thing. You feel like time is slipping by and it's almost an addiction, like needing a smoke, to be doing something else at the same time.
25. You need to get prayer against this, because this is one of the Enemy's main inroads to dilute the quality of your Word time. You know this is a problem, but it's so hard to do something about it. You feel like it's redeeming the time to do more than one thing at a time‚ and usually it is, but not in this case. You'll just have to believe Me on this one.
26. Look at it this way: Even though you may be getting more physical things done and taking care of other little things at the same time, if your attention is partially distracted by those things, you won't be meeting the full requirement of having focused, quality Word time; you won't be getting what you need to out of the Word. Therefore that time is not all that it could be, and could even be considered a waste of time. You need to let those other little things go and learn to focus fully on the Word if you want to truly redeem the time. That will be your sacrifice—sitting still, being quiet, and studying.
27. Study will really help you. It will be a key. As you listen to the Word, if you have a copy to read with, and you can mark or follow along, then you won't feel like you're wasting time or that your mind or body or hands are so idle that you're practically driven to do something else‚ to get up and walk around, and to engage in another activity. Study will help you to focus more, and it will also keep away this temptation of multitasking.
28. The Enemy will fight you hard in this area, and a safeguard for you would be to have Word times with others so that you can't revert to this bad habit—at least until your personal Word time habits are solid and well established.
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29. You've got to let your Word time be more than a mental process of reading. It has to be more than taking in information. It has to speak to you like the whispers of a lover—words that you cherish, that you remember, that you dream about, that you repeat to yourself over and over, that you let become a part of you and that take on a life of their own inside of you. That is how I want you to be with My Words. I want them to be a part of you—not filed away in your mind, nor even only accepted and believed. I want them to touch you, to move you, to stir you to action, to fill you, to lift you to new heights!
30. Pray for an insatiable hunger for the Word. I don't want you to just be faithful to read it, or even to give it the allotted time; I want you to crave it. I want you to feel it in the depths of your soul. I want the Word to be such a part of you that you miss it if you don't get it, that you feel the loss.
31. My Word is Me, and I want to be so much a part of you that you can't wait until the next time you can be with Me. I would so love it if you treated My Word, and thus Me‚ as you do the one you love—giving Me your 100 percent focus; being willing to drop anything when I call; anticipating your time with the Word; putting your mind, body, and soul into your time; making sure that nothing will distract you during your important time with Me and My Word; thinking about it long after it's over; letting a part of your mind be consecrated to it—always on call‚ always thinking about ways you can make your time in My Word more quality.
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32. Rebuke Obstacon through the power of the keys when you take this needed time with Me. If he can't get you not to take Word time, he'll try to make your Word time of lesser quality and make you space out and not receive My seeds fully. So, fight to make it fruitful!
33. Use your marker as you read. Write down or copy quotes that speak to you. Do a variety of things in order not to get bored or fall asleep. Memorize quotes that stick out. Review key promises as you go, wherever they fit in. When you read something that applies, stop and pray for any changes you need to make, or for others in the Family. Flush out those lungs and sing a song of praise to Me! Sing a fighting song and defeat the Enemy and all his demons! Speak in tongues! Call on the spirit helpers helping you! Rebuke the Devil and all the demons!
34. You don't have to sit absolutely still for an hour and read word after word—you can intersperse any of these things, and more. When I speak to you about something you're reading, write it down or type it up in order not to lose it. I might have a personalized message on a certain subject that I and My helpers are trying to get across to you.
35. Be open as you take time with Me. This is time to be moved by My Spirit and to make sure that this time is making a difference in your life. I am a living God and a moving God! I want to live and move and work in your life. I want you to make a difference in the world today!
36. Seek Me after you read something to see if you really got the point—My point. I don't want you to sit and read something just for the sake of reading. I want it to cause a change in your life. Ask Me how you can go out and live it and practice it. Ask Me what I am expecting you to do about what you read. After you read anything, you have a responsibility. You are accountable to make those words a part of your life and a part of you. Open your channel to Me and let Me speak any words that I have for you.
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37. Start every day off right, loving Me‚ praising Me, feasting on My Word‚ and letting Me speak to you. This will put you solidly on My channel so that you can hear from Me and soak up My Spirit all day long, in everything you do. If you can just get on My channel and stay there, all your time will be quality time with Me. Of course, you can't spend all your day with your head in the clouds, so to speak, but the more you practice getting in tune with Me in the morning, the closer you will be to Me all day long, and the easier it will be for you to reconnect with Me after being called back "into the wings*" to attend to earthly matters.
*Note: "The wings" are symbolic of our service to the Lord, in contrast to being "in the temple," as David explained in the Letter "Temple Time": "People are rushing around out in the wings, like they're busy in the service of the King; but the people here under the central dome just stand there quietly and look up, bathed in that beautiful, beautiful golden glow from Above, taking big deep breaths of that Heavenly air that comes down the pipe. ... You just cannot go on if you only hurry around all the time in the wings and you never step into the rotunda and look up through the dome, spending quiet time, seeing Heavenly visions and breathing Heavenly air and hearing Heavenly music and voices! It just totally renews you and completely refreshes you and gives you new vision and fresh inspiration, new strength, rest and peace and joy!" (ML #191:7,10, Vol.2).
38. When it comes to getting in My Word, it's true that nothing succeeds like success. When you get fired up about something in the Word, it catapults you into My Spirit and snowballs, until everything you read comes alive to you by My Spirit. But it takes effort to strike the first spark or get the snowball started. Too often you don't get much out of the Word you read because you don't get turned on by it, and the reason you don't get turned on by it is because you aren't desperate enough or you give up too soon. It takes work. As My Apostle Paul said, you must labor to enter into My rest (Hebrews 4:11).
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39. I love to answer your questions. And it is a thrill and a delight to Me to see all the beautiful questions you have, and the way you want to do My will, because you believe in Me and you know that I have the solution for everything.
40. But at the same time, you need to come to Me for simple worship and love. You need to sit at My feet and learn whatever I want you to. You need to let Me speak and instruct you about the things that I know you need, not just those things that you want the answers for.
41. I love you and I can help you, My dear one, but you must let Me have more control, more space, more of a place in your heart and mind, so that you are not just bringing Me the questions you have and expecting Me to answer them. I want to answer your questions, but this is not the first thing I want from you. First and foremost I want your love, and to connect with you in spirit as lovers do. Those times when we just sit and love one another are so sweet, so beautiful, so refreshing and so life–giving, so precious. They will take away the care and the worry that bothers you at times.
42. I also want to be able to speak freely to you on topics that I know you need; to jump out from a passage you read, or something you think of, and come through with a special message. You'll gain much from letting Me speak to you through more than just the questions you have for Me.
43. There is a big difference between eating a quick meal because your stomach knows that it is time to eat and you grab the few things that you find to eat quickly, or being conscious that your body needs good nourishment.—That you need a certain amount of proteins, fruits, vegetables, and starches, and work accordingly to prepare a good balanced diet every day. I have created your body to have certain needs, and except for rare or unavoidable situations, it is your duty while on earth to supply the right quantity and quality of food that your body needs.
44. The same applies to your spiritual feeding. Are you going to read quick little passages here and there just because you have to fulfill a time mandate of reading My Word? Or are you going to pray, to ask Me what you need every day to feed your spiritual body? Ask Me what topic or type of Word will give you what you need for the day.
45. Take the time to pray and to plan your diet as you would with natural physical food. I am your Chef and you can order whatever you like, but you need to take the time to read the menu and study the different dishes. Don't go running into a "fast food restaurant," grabbing the first things that happen to be on your desk and skimming through them because you have to fulfill your Word quota for the day. Take the time to read, and to absorb what you're reading. Take time to reread a passage. Take notes. Underline a certain paragraph that speaks to you. Pray about the assignments that I give you through My Word‚ or that are mentioned in the Letters. Keep a pen and a paper nearby to jot down any comments or ideas or studies to do afterwards. Then go over these notes later and see how you can do some of these extra studies.
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46. You are going to have to take the time to hear from Me as to what to read and study, and to prepare your Word ahead of time. Perhaps you can make Saturdays or Sundays the day you prepare your Word projects for the week ahead. In fact‚ you could have several projects lined up, and some ready at all times, so you are not caught without something ready to read. This could be your worst enemy in trying to make this Word revolution a reality: being unprepared or having nothing on hand to study.
47. Next, make yourself some sort of daily chart or checklist—a chart where you can check off whether you got your time in or not. You could list the name of the Word you read, the date‚ and the time you spent in study. The same could be true of your prayer and prophecy time‚ and your prayer vigil. If you make a chart, then you will see for sure how well you're doing and you will avoid that situation of "thinking" you got your time in, when you really didn't.
48. Pray before you begin each study session for wisdom, insight, anointing, and understanding of the Word that you will read. Don't just dive in, but take some time to prime the pump and prepare for what you are about to receive.
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49. For regular Word time, the key is schedules. For quality time, the key is menus. The idea behind menus is that you take time to make sure that you prepare a balanced Word meal for yourself. Think about when you are hungry. That shouldn't be hard—you're hungry right now. Why is that? It's because this morning you didn't have a menu; you didn't have something that you knew you were going to prepare and eat. So you went the other route—the opposite of menus—we'll call it scavenging. You went scavenging. You opened the fridge, kinda looked around‚ ate a little of this, a little of that, drank some water, etc. In the end you came away not entirely full or satisfied.
50. The same thing happens with the Word. You can either prepare Word menus as I will show you how to do, or you can scavenge for Word. "Scavenging" means to not come with any set plan, but to try to make up a plan on the spot. This wastes valuable Word time, and generally you end up with less of a good meal than if you had followed a menu. Sometimes you do well‚ just as sometimes you strike it rich in the fridge and score some real tasty leftover and have all you wanted. But you can't depend on that.
51. You have to create balanced Word meals. I want you to start scheduling not only the time for Word, but also for what you will do during that Word time. Cooks don't just plan "chicken" for dinner, but also plan how they will cook the chicken, so they can prepare accordingly and gather any other ingredients that they will need. I've given you the elements for what constitutes a balanced Word diet, and you have to arrange them in ways that look attractive and edible to you.
52. A good Word meal should include:
1) Prayer for your Word time.
2) Reading My Word.
3) Memorization.
4) Praise/time loving Me.
5) Hearing from Me in prophecy.
53. A proper Word menu will say, for example, that for the first ten minutes you're going to have memory and review. Then you'll have praise time, and you'll actually have a plan to follow—that you're going to play a song or you're going to say words of love and praise to Me. It could even specify whether you'll come up with your own or use a book.
54. Then for hearing from Me you need to know what question you'll hear from Me about, or if you're just generally asking Me for My thoughts about the day. That's fine too; you just need to know what you're listening for.
55. Most important is the main course—the Word you're going to read. This needs to be planned. You need to have a project you're working on and you have to plan ahead, so that if you finish one thing, you have something else to go on to.
56. I want you to actually make a little form for yourself, a little Word menu that you fill in every day with what you're planning to do the following day. You can experiment with the best time to get your Word menu done, as it may vary from day to day.
57. The more detailed your plan, the more effective your Word time will be. This may seem silly to you, or you may think you're going overboard, but you have to remember how highly I value this time. Your Word time is so important to Me, and it's so important to your growth‚ that there is almost nothing you could do that I would look upon as going overboard. The better you have planned it, the more smoothly it will flow, and the more you will get out of it.
58. Remember to consult Me when making your menus, to ask Me what I would like you to read, what I would like you to hear from Me on, and how I would like to be praised.
59. The more things are scheduled, the less anything is left up to last-minute planning, the less opportunity the enemies of My Word have to use circumstances and blank spaces to waste your time, to snatch away your concentration‚ or to fill you with boredom.
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60. Pray about and plan your Word reading and feeding schedule. Prepare a packet of Letters or a directory of MP3s or files ahead of time so you have easy access to good feeding reading for Word time, as well as any other time you find you have a few free moments. Do not, however, over-manage your time with Me. [Note: In this case MP3s refers to audio files of Letters read aloud, or Letters converted to audio using a computer text-to-speech program. Text files you want to listen to can be converted to MP3 format fairly quickly and easily by using computer programs such as TextAloud and others.]
61. In this quality time with Me, I am not looking for you to crank up an MP3 file to maximum speed and pop it into your ears and not let Me get a word in edgewise. When we go over My Word, I want you to do it together with Me, discussing it, praying about it, applying it, meditating on it, and asking Me to explain it. I need spirit-touching time with you so that I can mold you into the extension of Me and My love that you need to be.
62. I want secret time in the inner chambers with you, communing heart to heart with you, so that I can begin to soften those places that are getting hard and inflexible, so that I can knead those knots of tension out of your spiritual life and give you great peace and confidence. I need time alone with you away from regulations, schedules, duties and distractions. I need quality conference time with you each day.
[The following list, in point form, is a compilation of specific tips from several different personal prophecies:]
63. * Have Word handy to read beside your bed on the subject of praise and prayer. This helps you in the morning when you open your eyes to have praise on your lips. At night when you are tired and ready to fall asleep‚ it allows your last breath to be a praise to Me as you read something about the importance of praise and prayer. You can continue to read on these two topics as much as you want, because you can never thank or praise Me too much! And you can never pray too much.
64. * Make sure you come "armed" for your Word time. This means arming yourself with a good solid opening prayer before you begin reading, asking Me to help you to fully focus on Me and My Word‚ putting on My Mind‚ and then claiming a key promise specifically for good, solid, feeding, quality–filled Word time. Also come armed with your tools: a paper copy* of what you're reading‚ as well as a highlighter for marking key points or passages‚ and a pen for jotting down notes, points, or questions that come to mind while you're reading.
65. *Note: As the Lord brought out in the Letter "What is Jesus Worth to You,"* (ML #3549), He wants us to learn to study His Word, to become students of the Word. So whether reading the Word on paper and bringing a notebook and pen and highlighter is what works for you, or you use your computer or a PDA (having closed down e-mail and instant messaging programs and anything else that might distract you), and copy quotes into your quote file, highlighting in the Word file, and making notes of questions you want to ask the Lord, the point is to learn to study and absorb the Word. (*Note to Active members: If you haven't yet had the chance to read this New Wine Letter‚ please ask your Home to share it with you! Note to Homes: You can find the New Wine versions of many MLs at this link on the MO site: http://old.familymembers.com/pubspages/search.php3?searchpub=27)
66. * Bringing your own spirit into subjection is a key. Learning to control your spirit and your wandering thoughts is something that I can help you do, if you specifically ask Me to. Then specifically pray against your absorption-opposer in the spirit—Obstacon—or any other minions of the Enemy who would fight your absorption of the Word or being fully fed in the best possible way each time you sit down to have Word time.
67. * Forget about how much you're reading. It's not a race to see how much you can read or how quickly you can read. Don't gauge yourself in this manner or compare with others and how much they're able to read in the same span of time. The first key is quality, not quantity. And the second key is applying what you read. Again, it's not how much you read, or even how much Word you know, or how much Word you've memorized.—It's how much you're applying to yourself and living what you do know. Always remember that. It's better to read a little, while really studying the words and gleaning from each sentence and passage what I want to give you, and being changed by them, than to read pages and pages and retain only a small fraction and apply even less.
68. * Have the material you want to read and study printed, or on your PDA, or (in the case of audio files of Word) loaded on your MP3 player, in advance of the next day's Word time.
69. * Keep an ongoing list of Letters you'd like to read and study when you have time.
70. * After you read a Letter, make a list of a few phrases that summarize that Letter—the main "to dos" from the Letter, simply put. Keep those phrases in a place where you will see them often for that day or for the next few days.
71. * You need a spirit of quietness before Me—a spirit of reverence and getting quiet before your Maker. You need to be able to put aside the world, the day, and your own thoughts and mindsets, and have a spirit of calm—not the speedy‚ tense, and uptight spirit that you so often have. You need to pray for a spirit of peace first of all before you begin your time with Me.
72. * When listening to an audio file of a Letter, always follow along on paper. This will keep your mind present and not wandering and missing parts. If you miss something, go back and reread it to make sure you're getting everything.
73. * Have good prayer for receptivity every time you begin to read the Word. Ask Me to slow you down, to help you to stop, look, and listen to My Words. And ask Me regularly how something applies to you. When something speaks to you, stop and copy that quote and get My counsel on it right on the spot. Don't save it for later, because "later" doesn't often come. Do it right away and see how you can implement that counsel that day. By putting the Word into action immediately, it will become a bigger part of your life and begin to dictate your actions.
74. * Writing down or typing quotes helps to reinforce the best parts of the Word, and also creates a mini-condo*, a sort of "greatest hits" collection for your easy and fast reference later. If you're reading on your computer, keep a file open that you can pop the good quotes into. Stopping to pull quotes also helps you to break up the straight reading, so you can resist the tendency to lose your focus and concentration during Word time, while you let your mind wander. You have to stay on your toes to pick out the quotes. (*condo: condensed version of a Letter).
75. * Ask questions. Having questions about the Word isn't something that you encounter very often. You find the Word pretty clear and you don't generally have questions about it. But if you're looking at it not from the standpoint of things you don't understand, but things that you would like to delve deeper into, you could probably come up with some good questions to write down to ask the Lord about later. It would be good for you to try to come up with things that you'd like to delve further into. It's not doubting; it's good for you, because it will help to stir up your spiritual curiosity. Try to be like Mama, who always wants to see all sides, get the full picture, and is always there to say, "Can You tell us more about that‚ Jesus?" I'd like to nurture that same spiritual curiosity in you.
76. * Take notes. I'd like you to jot down notes and things that come to mind while you're reading—things like other Letters that the Word reminds you of, specific situations where this could have come in handy, specific times you've made mistakes along these lines, things to discuss with your wife [or husband], things that you could do in the Home to enact this Letter, etc. You're pretty used to just reading straight through, but I want you to develop these ways of taking the Word to the next level.
77. * You should pray a cleansing prayer before you sit down to read My Word. Ask Me to cleanse your mind of any and all thoughts of business, any worries, to-dos, nagging fears or condemnation laid there by the Enemy. Like a sponge, if you are so full of everything else, you won't be able to absorb what I have for you. So as you pray and as you commit these things to Me, I will squeeze you out and help you to be an empty sponge‚ open and receptive to soak up My Word.
78. * Add some spice by reading different things, such as doing Word studies on a certain topic. Read up on the Endtime. Occasionally have a "Childcare Word time," where you read about children, childcare, and parenting. Add a few pages of From Jesus with Love or To Jesus with Love. Read a chapter from the Bible. Review some memory verses and chapters. Learn a few key quotes. Too often the problem with "boring" or "dead" Word times is that they are unplanned, and you just grab the first thing you find, which‚ though it may be very good, and feeding and inspiring, may not be the key for the day. So seek Me about what to read if you don't have something that you are working through. And even if you do, get My confirmation on what would be good for that particular day.
79. * There are times when you'll read My Word and it won't feel so inspiring or "wow." That's natural, because the Enemy tries all kinds of things to pull you away from My Word and make you feel that it's a waste of time and isn't doing any good anyway.
80. When you feel dry or uninspired, that's not a sign that you should stop reading, by any means. Stop and take some time praising Me, loving Me, singing to Me, rebuking the Enemy, and then get right back into the Word.
81. It's your perseverance and focus and obedience that I bless and reward, not whether you "feel" inspired about it. So don't let dry feelings stop you. Pause for a praise break, change positions, ask Me if there's anything you can do to liven things up, and then get right back in there and finish your Word time. It will feed and strengthen your spirit whether you feel a whole lot different or not.
82. * Start putting together more Word compilations. This serves the purpose of keeping you more alert and causing you to really study and mine for the jewels; and it's also a blessing to you later, when you don't have something in mind to read that day, or when you really need some power quotes on a certain topic. It can be difficult to do a full study on a specific issue that you're battling with—though sometimes that is important. But doing a study during "peacetime" is terrific preparation for that battle later. And if you study some area in which you're really going through it, and that you'll likely have to fight again, then that study will come in handy many times over. Last but not least, you can also use your compilations to benefit others in different ways—whether using them for devotions or passing them on to others personally.
83. * Make a to-do list from each Letter you read. You should make a point of having at least one question that you ask Me regarding each Letter that you read. Often the question can be: "How should I be putting this into action and applying it in my life?" You read the Word, you know you need the Word, you love the Word, and you have a hunger for it. But you are weak when it comes to applying the Word. This is where Obstacon fights you the most‚ through trying to delay your application of the Word. So this is where you need to fight the most. Fight to apply the Word, to do what it tells you to do. This is how making a to–do list from it will help you.
84. * Keep an ongoing list of to–dos from the Word. Starting a general "spiritual life to-do list" based on the Word you read, and that you maintain and check regularly, will be helpful.
85. * Make it a habit to determine that before you put down what you are reading‚ you will commit to some sort of action, in big or small ways.
86. * Regularly share what the Word is doing for you, or things that stand out to you from the Word, with someone else. Make it a particular point to do this with your friends that you're closest to, to keep the spiritual aspect strong in your relationship.
87. * If you're feeling drab when reading the Word, or you're having a hard time concentrating, stop and see what I want you to do to have the best and most feeding time.
88. * Start a personal "From Jesus with Love" compilation of key quotes from your personal prophecies.
89. * Set aside one day of your personal Word time per week to dedicate to reviewing your personal prophecies.
90. * Do Word studies that are a follow-up to a recent Letter or that strengthen its message.
91. * Your time of hearing from Me will be much more consistent if you keep a daily prophecy log. I've told you to do this before, but it's been hard for you to pull it off, and you've felt that it's just too much to do a big prophecy each and every day. Maybe the trouble is that you've been setting your standard too high; you feel that you have to get several paragraphs and that it has to be very deep and heavy. It doesn't. It can be very short. It can just be one paragraph if that's all you get. It can be very simple. The point is to do it and be consistent. In time you will see that you're getting fed by these daily times with Me, and that the messages are really helpful.
92. * Something that you need to make a habit of doing with each Letter that you read is to formulate at least one question to ask Me in regards to that Letter. You can do it during your Word time, after your reading time, or add it to your list to do the following day. You can't leave the Word-related prophecy questions waiting for long, though, or you will be tempted not to do them at all. You must make a habit of asking Me how you can apply the Word that you read. Even if you think there's nothing that can be applied from what you read‚ I want you to come to Me and ask Me if I have anything to say to you on that topic.
93. * One of the reasons you have difficulty deciding on what to read is that you have the mindset that you always have to be reading on subjects along the lines of your weak areas or self-improvement. But that's not the case. There are hundreds of subjects to read up on in My Word, and all of them can and will strengthen you in some way. In fact, if you only concentrate on certain subjects in My Word and never on other topics, you can lose the overall vision of what you are in the Family for. You can do studies on the Endtime‚ Heaven, witnessing, children, young people, or a host of other subjects covered in the Letters. You can also do studies on spiritual matters such as prayer, the Word, hearing from Me, the keys‚ etc., along with subjects like humility and pride, honesty, and so many more.
94. There is a lot of variety in My Word and you need to partake of it all. Even if you think you are strong in a certain area, reading My Word on that subject and really studying it can always bring new areas to light that you can learn and grow in, or at the very least inspire you and encourage you to keep going strong in that area of your life.
95. * Meditating* is something that you don't do much of. You would like to, but it takes so much to wind down and to let your mind meditate and be that thoughtful and quiet that it just doesn't happen often. My hope is that as you quiet your spirit first thing in the morning, you'll be in a more meditative state. *("Meditation is emptying yourself of everything—any thoughts—and letting Me fill you. It's harnessing your mind and giving it to Me, and allowing Me the freedom to connect with you in whatever way I want to" [ML #3554:166].)
96. Reflecting on My Word is also beneficial. You should start by pausing every little while to reflect on what you've just read for two or three minutes, to type out little phrases, to copy out key quotes, to do something tangible that will help you to grasp and absorb what you've just read, to review. You're too used to lapsing into your work thoughts and the biz of the day. But having a few things to do or to compile will help you to get into a reflective frame of mind without letting your mind wander.
97. Try to take some time for both reflection and meditation** at the beginning, during, or at the end of your personal Word time each day. Meditation is beneficial and renewing to your spirit, and reflection will be a tremendous help to you in feeling the effects of the Word, and being reminded of it throughout the day‚ so that you can live the Word more and put it into practice in your daily life. (** "Reflection is not the same as meditation. In other words, if you're reflecting on something, that doesn't necessarily mean you're meditating. But the two do go together quite nicely‚ and it's pretty easy to do both in the same setting. Both are spiritually healthy and good for you. Reflection, especially when you're reflecting on something that you've read in the Word, is extremely beneficial. So take the time for both in your personal time with Me as often as you can" [ML #3554:180].)
98. * You must be an empty vessel if I am to be able to fill you. Even if you're only half full of yourself, that will dilute the Word that you receive and cause it to only have a partial effect. My Word must take root within your heart and soul, and then it must be given time to grow. If you take off from your Word time as soon as you're done, without taking time to reflect on what you've just read, and you start to think about work or whatever comes to mind, it will be as if you hadn't read anything.
99. For My Word to stay within your heart‚ it must be meditated on, so you need to allow time for this in your schedule as well. Just as nothing can be enjoyed in a hurry, and you have to take time to savor and enjoy what you have just experienced, so it is with My Word. You must take the time to let it become a part of you. You will feel the change in your day as you allow My Word to wash you clean of the spirit of haste and replace it with a spirit of peace and faith.