A lot of people would like to be more committed to a daily time with God, but they find it hard to do so. Perhaps you can relate. You’re consistent for a while, fall off, feel badly, and then someone in your life (like your pastor) says you should do it. You try again, are consistent, fall off…and the cycle continues to repeat itself.
Why is time with God so important? We have to remember that we live in a world with a real enemy. I Peter 5:8 says, “…Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Every day our enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy. We have to view our time with God as preparation for the battle.
If you and I are going to protect our hearts, protect our families, overcome temptation, and live a victorious life, we need to spend time with God every single day. If we don’t, we will be like soldiers entering the battle unprepared and without a weapon, and we will easily be defeated by our enemy.
How do you create a consistent time with God? Here are three simple steps:
1. Pick a “distraction-free” time and a place.
A lot of times we aren’t consistent because we haven’t designated a specific time in our schedule or a location for the “meeting.” Once you designate a time and place, it becomes a lot easier to be consistent. For me, it’s my kitchen table at 5:30am. I say distraction-free because if your phone is buzzing, your television is on, or your children or other people are around, your attention and focus will be on the distractions rather than on God.
Jesus modeled what this time should look like in Mark 1:35, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” What always struck me from this passage was that He was up before the sunrise, and He was alone. This allowed Him to focus on connecting with His Father.
2. Quiet your heart.
If you’re going to connect with God, you have to settle your heart before you dive in to any sort of Bible reading. You can do this with a simple prayer of surrender, asking God to quiet your mind and help you to surrender your will to whatever He has to say–whether that’s an encouragement, an instruction or a rebuke. Place your heart in His hands.
Ps 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The goal of quieting your heart is to have a soul posture that will allow you to receive from God what He wants to show you.
3. Have a strategy.
Years ago, I read The Devine Mentor, by Wayne Cordeiro. In the book, he laid out the SOAP method. The SOAP method is an acronym that gives you a plan for how to engage God during your time with Him. This acronym is:
S – Scripture
O – Observation
A – Application
P – Prayer
Scripture. Read it prayerfully, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal His will, His heart, and anything He might want to say to you that particular morning. You’re looking for one idea. One truth.
Observation. During this time, ask yourself questions such as: What’s going on in this passage? What’s the instruction? What’s the specific truth God’s wanting me to learn? Is He encouraging me to forgive somebody? Does He want me to trust Him more? Give up some sinful behavior? Write your answers and thoughts down in your journal.
Apply. Take some time to think about your life and practically apply what God’s showing you to your everyday life. Do you need to go forgive somebody? Do you need to trust him in that job transition? Do you need to take care of a problem your kid is having at school? Write down what God wants you to do about the truth He’s shown you, and then commit to take action on it.
Pray. Take some time at the end to pray through your day, pray through the things people in your life are going through or things weighing on your heart. Pray that God will help you follow through on the action you’ve committed to take from His teachings that day. Whatever you need to lay before God, take some time to pray about it.
Remember, an effective time with God requires a plan because we are in a battle with a real enemy. That should be all the motivation we need to spend time with God every single day.
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