As a follower of Jesus,
you want to have regular time in the Word and prayer. That doesn't mean it’s
easy to carve it out each day. But you want it.
Let me lean in here.
Why is regular time with
the Lord of crucial value? Consider just 10 reasons.
- Because our hearts are fickle and forgetful.
- Because the world is dark and darkening.
- Because our families, our neighbors, our co-workers, our children, our friends, and the strangers who pass us in the grocery store are eternal souls.
- Because apart from Jesus we can do nothing.
- Because we have a new identity, a new calling, and we need clear vision of what our Savior and Lord wants for us today.
- Because we need wisdom.
- Because we need correction.
- Because we need God's promises.
- Because facing life is terrifying when we forget who holds all the molecules and moments in His hand.
- Because our hearts will ceaselessly crave lesser things if we miss the quenching, refreshing joy of drawing near to God.
Are you with me? This is
important.
Second, if we see the
importance, why is it so hard to implement? If you've ever tried and failed to
establish regular time with God, you know it surely is.
Another 10 reasons:
- Because our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Because little kids wake up early.
- Because work, school, bills, housework, yardwork, sports, laundry, dishes, meal prep, shopping, driving, meetings, and church activities demand our attention.
- Because it's very hard to concentrate.
- Because it is noisy.
- Because interruptions constantly bombard us.
- Because the Bible can be hard to understand.
- Because our phones are right. there.
- Because we are very tired.
- Because we feel guilty about not doing it enough, or right, or at all.
Quick reminder: why do
we want to meet with God?
Not to gain His favor or
approval.
Not to maintain a
certain level of spirituality.
Not to prevent bad
things from happening or offer penance for our mistakes.
In Christ, we are
beloved. The door has been flung open to commune with God, hear from Him, pour
out our hearts to Him, and grow in the reflection of Christ. That’s why.
Another clarification:
having a plan for your time with God is not legalism. It is the essential work
of establishing a priority. Every important area of life requires purpose and
planning to flourish.
For that reason, let’s
get practical ...
Step 1: Ask God for
help.
Our biggest obstacles to
time with God are not schedules, children, or our many responsibilities. Our
biggest obstacles are in our own heart (accentuated by obstacles from the world
and the devil). So ask God to knock them all over and make time with Him a
daily privilege and delight.
Step 2: Assess your
daily rhythm.
Establishing regular
time with God is very challenging when life doesn’t operate in a tidy schedule.
In addition, life is a series of changing seasons. Just when you find a pattern
that fits one stage of life, something changes.
However, that doesn’t
mean it’s impossible to plan time with God. It simply may not work the same way
every day, every week, or every year.
So consider: Right now,
what are the times in your day where you are freest from other demands? Where
do you get to decide what you will do with a chunk of time? (This might be
naptime, evenings, the first hour of the day, a block of time when kids are at
school, or your lunch break.)
Step 3: Consider the
competition.
Another piece to the
puzzle is identifying what absorbs spare moments right now.
For a day or two,
observe your day like a careful budgeter. Assess your responsibilities but also
those spare minutes here and there that are “slush time.” (“Slush time” is
where you default when you catch a spare moment … maybe Facebook, grabbing a
podcast or newscast, scrolling on your phone, Netflix, checking email, or
cleaning a closet.)
Repurposing “slush time”
may be a way of creating time with God.
Step 4: Plan the time
and set a reminder.
As you seek God’s help
and review your daily rhythm, choose a block of time that seems most
consistently free and set it aside for time with God.
Then do what you would
do if you set any other important meeting. Put it on your calendar, set a
reminder on your phone, communicate with your spouse, block it on your work
schedule, or so forth.
However odd it may feel,
these steps are just the practical implementation of your highest priorities.
Step 5: Plan the where
and what.
Next you need a simple
plan for where you will be and what you will do during your time with
God.
Here are a few
suggestions:
- Take advantage of the double blessing of God’s word with God’s people by joining a Bible study at your local church.
- Follow a Bible reading plan, ideally with the fellowship of others. Here’s one such option.
- Open and close your time with prayer, and pray in the middle. More than a mental or academic exercise, this time is for communion, renewal, and refreshment of your heart with the Lord.
Step 6: Do some
troubleshooting.
What is most likely to
crash your plan?
Keep a pad of paper or
your phone nearby to briefly log to-do items that come to mind in the midst of
your quiet time. These thoughts are not a sign of spiritual weakness! God is
with you in all the details of life, but those things can likely be recorded
and dealt with later.
If your children are a
frequent interruption, consider some preventative measures. Set their
expectations and provide helpful boundaries (Mommy is going to read and pray
for 30 minutes now, and I will see you when I’m done.) Recruit help from
your husband.
Remember that you are
loving your family by preserving time with the Lord. It is worth every creative
effort to build this into your rhythm of life.
Step 7: Arm yourself for
emergencies.
In a fallen world, even
the best plan is likely to flop at times.
A new baby, the stomach
flu, your husband’s travel, or a family crisis shake things up. This is not
failure. And it doesn’t mean that you have lost communion with God, even if
your planned time is missed.
Consider an arsenal of
options for these emergency days:
- Play an audio Bible in the car, while you’re doing dishes, or as the backdrop to your regular activities.
- Let memorized Scripture feed your heart during middle-of-the-night awakenings or the briefest pauses in your day (during a bathroom break, while you sort laundry, walking to the mailbox, or while you brush your teeth).
- Pour out your heart to God, express your weakness and your desire to get time with Him, and hold fast to the promise of His unshakable love and care for you.
May every day be
sweetened by time with God, no matter your schedule or season of life.
