How To Make Your Time with God Really Count

Do you long for a deep, vibrant relationship with God?

Carving quality time out of a busy schedule to spend with Him is almost impossible, isn’t it?  Then when we do manage a little time, the struggle for connecting with God during prayer and study dampens our efforts and further weakens our resolve. We rely more and more on church sermons and Bible study groups to sustain a relationship with God — and end up with mediocre faith.

Have we settled for mediocrity by living out someone else’s Christianity?

A vibrant relationship with anyone takes commitment and work. Would any of us expect good physical health if our diet consisted of a handful of pita chips here, a burger wolfed down there, with the occasional serving of vegetables thrown in “to balance things out”? So why are we surprised by a lack spiritual vibrancy when we approach our relationship with God in the same sporadic manner?

But we don’t have to settle for a flat, frustrated “relationship” with God.

Here are a simple and effective means that can make our time with God meaningful, focused, and transformative.

 Getting Started

• Establish a time.  First, determine what part of each day would be best to meet with God.  This must be a time free from distraction and interruption. If you cannot find a time that qualifies, ask God what time He would like you to set aside for Him and then be ready for an unexpected answer! When the time is set, stick to it and consider it an unbreakable appointment. Since we probably wouldn’t break an appointment with an important official, how much more eager should we be to keep our appointment with the King of Kings!

• Establish a plan. Choose a specific plan for your personal study. Then divide your time between Bible study, prayer, and meditation, making sure you leave time for all three each day.

• Focus on knowing God. Make knowing God the goal of your quiet time. Make knowing God the goal of your quiet time. Click To Tweet Review this goal often to motivate yourself to persevere.

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Making The Most of It

• Begin with a brief prayer. Ask God to make Himself real to you, to help you understand the passage in its context and apply it to your life today.

• Work systematically through your study. Completing a book or topic before moving on to another will yield a better understanding of God and His Word.

• Meditate on what you learned about God. Take the time to listen to God speak through some aspect of your study.  Then prayerfully relate what you’ve learned to your present circumstances and think of practical ways you can apply it.

• Record your insights in a journal and review them at the end of the day to help anchor them in your mind.

• End your time with prayer. Spend focused time worshipping and praising God according to any of His attributes that you have discovered in your study. Confess any sin He may have exposed through your study. Thank Him for what He has revealed to you and ask Him to help you walk in obedience to the Spirit.

• Share what you learned! This is a vital step in the spiritual nourishment process as it provides the opportunity to use what God has given to you to help others.

What greater motivation could there be to persevere in our quest to know God than making life-changing contact with Him and then seeing Him work through it? What God works in us during our quiet time He will surely work through us in the lives of others.

Is connecting with God the desire of your heart?  Then persevere in seeking Him today! When we pursue God through daily time with Him, we will find Him. Jeremiah 29:11-13 When we pursue God through daily time with Him, we will find Him Click To Tweet

What about you? What helps you go deep in your time with God?