The Five P's

1. Position Yourself to Hear from God
Engage in solitude and silence, and approach the text with anticipation, expecting God to speak to you.

2. Pore Over the Passage and Paraphrase the Major Points
Don’t just skim the passage. Take your time and meditate on it. Read the passage a few times, emphasizing different words in the verse each time. If a certain word or phrase speaks to you, don’t ignore it. Stop and consider why it is meaningful. This is how the Spirit speaks. He connects Scripture to the details of our lives.

If the passage allows, put yourself in the Scripture and see yourself in the story. If one verse seems to resonate with you, don’t worry about finishing the rest—just stay in the passage, and let the Spirit speak to you. As you meditate on Scripture, consider the context. What takes place both before and after the passage?

After you meditated on the verse(s), use the space given to paraphrase each verse. In just one or two simple sentences, summarize what is happening. These questions might help you to get the most out of each verse selection as you pore over the passage:

*Who are the major participants?
*What are they doing? Saying?
*Where are they going?

3. Pull Out the Spiritual Principles
Close your Bible and look at your paraphrases. For each one spiritualize the major point. What is God teaching? What is He revealing about Himself? Is there a command to be followed? Is there a promise to be regarded? Write them down.

4. Pose the Question
Turn each spiritual principle that you listed above into a personally directed question. Ask yourself questions that will help you come to these conclusions:

*Am I living in a way that coincides with the message of this verse?
*Is anything in my life contradicting this passage?
*What do I need to do to bring my life in line with this verse?

As you sit in God’s presence with these questions, record what you begin to hear the Spirit encouraging you, convicting you, challenging you, or inspiring you to do.

5. Plan Obedience and Pin Down a Date
Determine the steps you can take to immediately begin responding to what God has said to you, and put them into practice immediately. If obedience requires you to do something specific, record a date and time you will follow through. Let someone else know about your plan so you can be held accountable.

Are YOU ready? Let’s Go