How to use the 40 Day Walk with God

Journey Together from April 21 through May 31

• Be sure that every member of your congregation has access to the “40 Day Walk with God.”  A downloadable version is available by clicking here, or they can read daily at  https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/category/2014-40-day-walk-with-god
  • Encourage individual to download it to their desktop or device for daily use.
  • Suggest that individuals may download, then print the journal themselves, or offer to print a copy for those who may not have the ability to print at home.
  • The prayer meditations for each of the forty days will be posted every day, beginning on April 21, on The Bishop’s Blog (BishopBilMcAlilly.com). You may ‘follow” his blog by submitting your email (all updates are automatically sent to your inbox) or just manually visit the site each day. We encourage everyone to submit a comment and to interact with others on the blog.
  • Pastors are encouraged to use a sermon series related to the “40 Day Walk with God.” Information is available online at http://bit.ly/201440DaySermon.
• For personal use, set aside time each day to sit quietly before the Lord, and ask God to speak to you through the reading for that day.
  • Read the focus at the top of the page for that day and meditate for a few moments on what that focus says to you.
  • Read the printed Scripture for the day.  You might want to read surrounding verses from your Bible to set the passage in context.
  • Read the meditation, listening for what particularly speaks to you, underlining those places as you read.  Go back and read again what you marked, listening to what God is saying to you.
  • Pray the printed prayer, expanding the prayer for your own life, for your local church, for your conference, and beyond.
  • Pray for the writer of the meditation, and pray for your pastor(s), your district superintendent, Bishop McAlilly, and other spiritual leaders in your life.  Pray also for their spouses and families.
  • Journal your thoughts and reflections for that day.
    • READ-What spoke to you as you read today’s meditation?
    • REPENT-Where is God showing you that you have failed to be obedient to the call to discipleship
    • RECEIVE-What words of redemption and grace is God offering ?
    • REMEMBER-Who and what is God calling you to remember in prayer related to today’s reading
    • RESPOND-How is God calling you to respond today?
• For church use, start a prayer group or small study groups committed to reading the “40 Day Walk with God,” or use it in a Sunday school class, or as a choir or United Methodist Women or United Methodist Men devotional resource.
  • Discuss together what particularly spoke to you that week and why.
  • Consider ways your small group or church could grow in the four focus areas.
  • Plan together action projects related to each of the focus areas.
• Give a copy to visitors who come to your church, as the “40 Day Walk with God” can be used at any time since the readings are not “dated.”