Personal Circle

Your personal relationship with Jesus.

Biblical Backing: 

  • When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. (Matthew 6:6)

  • Jesus himself modeled this in his earthly life.  It says he would withdraw to desolate places to pray (Luke 5:16).  

  • Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

 Tips to make your time with Jesus count

  • SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer.

    Following this simple format can give meaningful structure to your time with Jesus and help you focus on powerful takeaways.

    Scripture: Read a chapter of the Bible each day. Choose a verse from that chapter that stands out to you, and write it out. 

    (Choose a book of the Bible to systematically read through or consider starting a Bible Reading Plan such as the F260 by Robby Gallaty, The One Year Bible or The Bible Recap, you can find other plans at YouVersion Bible App)  

    Observation: Write the meaning of the verse in your own words. 

    Application: Write down what you feel God is telling you to do (or what He wants you to know) based on this verse.

    Prayer: Write out a prayer based on this verse.  Ask God to apply this truth to your life and use it to make you more like Jesus.   

  • If you plan a specific place and time to meet with Jesus each day, you are much more likely to follow through with it!

    Pro tip: early mornings are great because it ensures you do it before the busyness of the day sets in. Plus, Jesus Himself got up early to spend time with the Father (Mark 1:35).

    You might start by committing to something like this: I will wake up at 6am, sit down at my table with tea or coffee, and get in the Word for 15 minutes. Then I will pray for 5 minutes.

    Be disciplined about it! The goal is to create a habit.

    For motivation, ask yourself: what could God do in my life if I committed to spending time with Him every single day?

  • Plan to fail. That's right. Decide ahead of time that you're probably going to miss a day here and there–and that's ok. Decide now that when it happens, you're going to get back into it the next day, and you're not going to let one failure stop you from developing a life-changing habit.

    The goal is not perfection, the goal is consistency over time. This is how habits are formed.

  • Before you begin reading, ask God to illuminate His Word for you, help you understand it, and apply it to your life.

For Those New To The Faith

Want to cut to the chase and get a grasp on the fundamental doctrines of the faith? This book is comprised of 20 basics every Christian should know.