Spending personal time with God
What are some things we spend time on during our day?
We spend time working, eating, cooking and with our loved ones, etc. We especially make time for things that are important and necessary like eating, sleeping, and going to work.
Just as it is necessary that we sustain our physical body, it is also important to sustain ourselves on a spiritual level. This can be done only through spending time with God on a consistent basis. Just as our human relationships require us to spend time on them in order to become intimate, so also we need to spend time with God is order to develop a deep relationship with Him.
Why is it important to spend time with God daily?
Spending time with God can keep us from falling in sin. It can keep us from being anxious and help us in making important decisions. It can also sustain us through out the day. Spending time with God gives pleasure to Him and it helps us put Him first in our lives.
Since there is so much benefit in spending daily time with God, why do we not do it?
We don’t spend personal time with God because we are too busy or tired, or we are not disciplined enough; we do not find much excitement in spending time with God or we don’t see it as being so important, etc.
What is involved in spending time with God?
1) It is a Two-way communication
· We speak to God in prayer
· God speaks to us through his Word and Holy Spirit
Through our prayers to God, we confess our sin, express our concerns, present our requests and intercede for others. Through His word, God encourages, rebukes, strengthens and guides us. The Holy Spirit makes God’s word clear to us, convicts us through scripture of something that is not right in our lives, comforts us as we face various trials and puts a burden for the needs of other people in our hearts.
2) Manner in which to spend time with God
· Matthew 6:5-6 says that we should go into a closet and pray to God. This means that our time with God should be done in private (as much as it is possible). Perhaps one can set up a corner of a bedroom where there can be some privacy and fewer distractions.
· Jesus went off by himself many times to secluded spots to spend time with His father. Mark 1:35
3) Best time of day to spend time with God
· There is no rule as to when to spend time with God. It is important that we meet with Him when we are alert. It helps to have personal devotions or quiet time at the same time everyday.
· The Bible seems to give preference to spending time with God in the morning. The psalmists especially talks about “presenting his requests before God in the morning”- Psalm 5:3, Psalm 88:13.
4) Format of devotions
· Read the Bible: it is not necessary to read an entire chapter. A person can even focus on just a few verses.
· Meditate: think/reflect on what the verses are saying and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants through the verses.
· Apply: think about how you can apply the verses in your life.
Example: James 1:19 says, “…be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”. This verse alone has enough instruction and wisdom for us to meditate on. We can think of the various ways we can apply this in our day-to-day life. God’s word is given so that we may act according to it.
· Pray: in our prayer time, we should:
1) Confess our sins/ Ask the Spirit to convict us
2) Praise God and have a time of Thanksgiving
3) Intercede for others: family, friends, church members, non-Christians, sick people, neighbors, etc.
4) Present our own requests
· We can also add a time of singing songs and hymns to our personal time and also keep a journal of what the Lord has revealed to us during our time with Him.
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