7 Seconds and 7 Words to Emotionally Connect with Scripture

Taking 7 seconds to connect with God before you begin to read one word of the Bible will significantly enrich your Bible reading time. 

Seven seconds?  What do I do in seven seconds? 

Say, “God, please guide my mind as I read the Bible today and help me to learn about you and your ways.” 

You don’t even need to add, “Amen.”

When I lift open the Bible cover to read and discover more about God, I find that I understand the words and what the author is conveying in the passage when I take a moment to connect with God first. 

Of course, this is a prayer, but really it is just an opening sentence to a conversation I will have with God. 

On the days that I read the Bible and don’t ask God to guide my mind, I don’t really get too much out of my reading time.  Though, I might end up with a great grocery list or idea for a study I am working on. 

My mind roams about like Harry Potter in a Quidditch Match if I don’t take time to center myself!

I combat this mind roaming by taking time to:

• Settle in a good seat
• Take 7 seconds to connect with the Lord
• Determine that I will engage with the Book for the next few minutes.
• If possible, read the text out loud.
• Ask myself, what facts did I see in this passage?
• Look for attributes of God in the narrative of words so I can know Him better.
• Pause and listen to the silence for a few moments.  Just to listen to God.  Shhhhh

Settle. Take-7.  Determine. Aloud. Facts. Attributes. Listen.

Nope!  You do not have to have a high-level degree to read and understand the Bible, but these are quick prep steps in getting the most out of your time in the Bible.

• Take time to settle down,
• pray for 7 seconds,
• make your claim that you will read the Bible for the next few minutes,
• try reading it out-loud,
• ask yourself about the facts,
• look for attributes of God, then sit back and just listen. 

Try it the next time you sit down to read, and let me know how it goes.  I'd love to hear!