Making Time with God a Priority

At the end of each year, many people begin to talk about New Year’s resolutions or goals for the year to come. Getting in physical shape tends to be the hot topic for resolutions, but what about spiritual shape? Or even emotional shape?

In the Living Free study, A Passionate Pursuit of God, Dr. Mike Chapman explains that life has a way of slowly separating us from God. He explains it as “Life is a wild goose chase without the goose.” We all have our “to do” lists, but do they include spending time with God? Not just time, but quality time with Him. We have a hard enough time relating to people we can physically see. How much more effort should we put into a relationship with our Creator whom we cannot see? Then we will sense and know He is with us through His Word, His Spirit, and His people.

Here are a few tips to help you in making time with God a priority in 2011:

• Listen to praise and worship music during your personal devotions.
• Thank God for the good things in your life.
• Thank God for the challenging circumstances; they have the potential to help build character and He is the only one who can bring comfort, encouragement, and joy for these times.
• Before you begin to read God’s Word, ask Him for wisdom and insight. Start in Genesis and begin reading through the Bible each day making notes in the margins of what comes to your mind about that passage. If you don’t like writing in your Bible, have a notepad available.
• Let God know what you feel that you need for that day.
• Ask God to meet the needs of your friends and family.
• For the last few minutes, meditate on the passages you just read from God’s Word.

It’s up to you to begin by finding a place in your home or office where you will not be disturbed for 20-30 minutes each day.

God is the only one who can bring comfort, encouragement and joy for the journey.

The pattern Jesus gave us while he was here on this earth was to rise early in the morning and go to a place where he would not be disturbed. Jesus showed us that his strength and wisdom came from his daily connection with the heavenly Father. Your time may not be early in the morning, but each day meet with God and build intimacy with Him and receive revelation for your daily life.

The Psalmist recorded, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2 NLT).

Make every effort to find your personal place and passionately pursue God in 2011.