Our Daily Bread - Spiritual Life BasicsSample

I. Finding Time to Spend with God

Many of us live with a sense of guilt because we are neglecting our personal devotional time with God. During the hectic demands of the day, it’s easy to let the care of our inner lives fall by the wayside.

But if we measure our spirituality by counting the number of times we have met with God during the week, we have missed the point. Devotions are a matter of our hearts more than the discipline of our daily calendars.

Right after the creation of the first man and woman, God is seen “walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). The Sovereign of the universe did not hide behind closed doors and angelic executive assistants in order to keep His creatures out. Instead, He took the initiative to seek out Adam and Eve for spiritual companionship.

A healthy and consistent devotional time is one important way we can respond to God’s desire to walk with us. Couples who are in love do not need to be coerced into spending time together. Each has a deep longing to experience life in relationship with the other person. When life’s interruptions keep them apart, each one seeks opportunities to reconnect.

That is what a quiet time is all about. We want to spend time with God to experience His presence, comfort, and guidance. And in a mysterious way, as we spend time with God “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV). We find that spending time with God actually changes the kind of people we are.

II. A Relational Approach to Spending Time with God

The same fellowship-seeking God Who walked in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve is reaching out to each of us today. But when should we try to connect with Him?

The Bible encourages meeting with God during any time of the day.

David wrote, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You” (Psalm 63:1 NKJV).

Ezra, the priest, “read [the Law] . . . from morning to midday” (Nehemiah 8:3).

David meditated on God’s Word during the “night watches” (Psalm 119:148).

And the first psalm in the Old Testament refers to the blessed man whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2 NKJV).

The Bible provides wonderful freedom about when to meet with God. So, what time of day will work best for you and your schedule? In your current situation, you may find morning to be a good time. Often you may read a passage in the morning, reflect on it during the day, and then review it again in the evening. It helps to have the same biblical thought throughout the day.

What matters most of all is to establish a regular time of the day when God can speak to you through His Word and you can respond to Him in prayer.

Once you have chosen a time, it’s important to be disciplined in keeping your appointments with God. But how do we do that?

III. Building a Relationship

“Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25 NKJV).

Two people who love each other are intentional about spending meaningful time together. To do this, both discipline and love must work together. Taking time requires deliberate planning.

A similar focus is necessary to cultivate meaningful time with God. Often we begin the day fully intent on having devotions at a set time. But as the day goes on, we are bombarded by one urgent item after another. Soon devotions are postponed until tomorrow. But when a quiet time is the priority, centering ourselves in God puts things in perspective. This relational connection requires discipline.

In 1 Corinthians 9, the apostle Paul used the imagery of athletic games to illustrate the need for a spiritual discipline.

The term used for temperate really means “the power of self-control; to practice abstinence.”

When athletes say “yes” to the Olympics, they say “no” to other distractions. Rigorous control of diet and exercise are the only way to win in their chosen competitive sport. Similarly, by setting up a daily devotional discipline and making it the priority, a host of other positive habits can follow.

Here are some ways to set up a devotional time before you actually begin:

• Reserve a daily time to reconnect.

Whether we need a highly disciplined schedule or prefer a more relaxed one, we all need a plan. So first consider your schedule, and then set aside a time when you will meet with God daily.

• Determine how much time to spend.

A classical guitar instructor once told a student, “It’s better to practice 15 minutes a day every day, than to practice for several hours on only a few days.” He was right, especially when it comes to establishing new habits.

This principle clearly applies to our devotional time. It’s better to block out 15 minutes and seek to remain faithful to honoring that time than it is to let our daily discipline be eaten away by daily distractions. After praying about how much time to spend, enter that time block into your calendar.

• Find a quiet place.

We all concentrate or are distracted in different ways. C. S. Lewis brings up a surprising suggestion in his book Letters to Malcolm. His admonition on devotional time is to make sure we have “just the right amount of distraction” to help us concentrate. Lewis tells the story of a man who had his time of Bible reading and prayer in a railway compartment because complete silence left him open to inner distractions. Ironically, his focus was enhanced when it was challenged just slightly.

The point is that we’re not always going to find a place that is as quiet as an undiscovered cave. Invariably, minor distractions are likely to occur. But we need to look for a place we believe is sufficiently quiet to help us concentrate. Now jot down on your calendar the place for reconnecting with the Lord.

• Set up realistic expectations.

A student in a Christian college was an excellent writer. The problem was that he always turned in his papers late. Why?

“If I can’t do it right, I won’t do it!” was his response. His commitment to perfectionism led him down a path of inconsistency. This is a common problem in maintaining a devotional time. It is the “all or nothing” approach to a devotional life.

Realistically, daily devotions are more about progress than about perfection. It’s better to have a shorter and even less meaningful devotion time on a given day than it is to skip it in the name of high standards. When we wait for the perfect circumstances to have “quality time” with the Lord, they rarely occur. Manageable, bite-sized devotional times can lead to greater consistency.

But what happens when the time and place are reserved and you actually show up for your quiet time, but you’re not in the mood to have one?