"PAY MORE THAN USUAL ATTENTION"

Fully Benefit From Personal Study

We benefit greatly from 'paying more than the usual attention' during periods of personal study and meditation. Reading and pondering over the Bible and Christian publications will furnish us precious opportunities to embed the truths of God's Word in our heart, This, in turn, will have a profound effect on the way we think and act. Indeed,it will help us to find delight in doing Jehovah's will. (Psalm 1:2; 40:8) Therefore, we need to develop our powers of concentration so that they serve us well when we study. It is so easy to be distracted! Minor interruptions-a phone call or a noise may cause us to lose focus. Or we may have a short attention span to begin with. We may sit down with good intentions of feeding spiritually, but before long the mind may,in effect, be grazing in other pastures. How can we "pay more than the usual attention" during personal study of God's Word?

It is beneficial to make a schedule and choose a setting most conductive to study. For most of us, time and privacy are rare commodities . We may feel as if the rushy of daily events is sweeping us along like a twig in a swift stream. Really, we need to fight the current, as it were, and seek a small island of calm. We cannot simply wait for an opportunity to study to present itself. Instead, we need to take comfort of the situation by making time for personal study. (Ephesians 5:15, 16) Some set aside a brief period in the morning when there may be less distraction. Others find that the evening affords a better opportunity. The point is that we must not ignore the vital need to take in accurate knowledge of God and his Son. (John 17:3) Let us therefore schedule time for personal study and then stick to that schedule.

Meditation-the process of pondering over what we have learned through study-is invaluable. It help us to get God's thoughts off the printed page and into our heart. Meditation helps us to see how to apply Bible counsel so that we become "doers of the word and not hearers only." (James 1:22-25) Moreover, meditation helps us to draw ever closer to Jehovah, for it enables us to reflect on his qualities and how they are highlighted in the material being considered during periods of study.

To benefit fully from study and meditation, we must keep the mind clear of distractions. In order to make room for new information when we meditate, we need to shut out the distractions of present-day living. Doing this takes time and solitude, yet, how refreshing it is to partake of the spiritual food and the waters of truth found in God's Word!

What if our attention span to short and our mind starts to wander after a brief period if study? Some have found that they can increase their powers of concentration while studying by starting out with shorter periods of study and gradually lengthening them. Our goal should be to linger in study rather than to rush through it. We need to cultivate an avid interest in the subject under consideration. And we can do further research using the vast amount of material provided by the faithful and discreet slave class. There is great value in peering into "the deep things of God." (1 Corinthians 2:10) Doing so enables us to enhance our knowledge of God and to develop our perceptive powers. (Hebrews 5:14) If we are diligent students of God's Word, we will also be "adequately qualified to teach others." -2 Timothy 2:2.

Attending Christian meetings and engaging in personal study will go a long way in helping us to develop and maintain an intimate relationship with Jehovah. Evidently, that was the case with the psalmist who said to God: "How do I love your law! All day long it is my concern." (Psalm 119:97) By all means, then, let us regularly attend meetings , assemblies and conventions. And may we buy out time for Bible study and meditation. We will be richly awarded for thus paying "more than the usual attention" to God's Word.

Next time: KEEP PRACTICING THE THINGS YOU HAVE LEARNED

Watchtower, 2002