Living Out Of The BoxSample

SPENDING TIME WITH GOD

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” -- John 15:5 NLT

The more you get to know God, the more you realize how much you need Him in your life! Maybe you’ve already been discovering this these past few days as we’ve been going through this journey. God is relational at the core of who He is. That’s why He made us -- to have a relationship with Him. So, as we spend more time with Him, the better our relationship will get!

Think about your best friend. How did the two of you become best friends?... You probably spent a lot of time together, and from those times together and shared experiences, you grew closer in your relationship with each other. The same is true for our relationship with God. The more time we spend with Him, the closer we will get with Him! You’ll find that as you start having time to hang out with God every day, your days will start to get better and you’ll start looking forward to and cherishing that time with Him!

Ok, I know what you’re probably thinking, “How am I supposed to hang out with God if He’s not a physical being I can sit and talk with?” It is different than going to hang out with a friend, but there are definitely ways to spend time with Him! … Two of the best ways to do this is by reading your Bible and spending time in prayer each day. We will talk more about how to read your Bible tomorrow, but don’t think those are the only ways to spend time with Him. You could go to a park and simply enjoy His creation and thank Him for it. Maybe you enjoy the arts and could spend time drawing or painting, or whatever you like to do, and just honor Him with that time by focusing on Him. Another great way to spend time with God is by journaling.

When it comes to prayer, sometimes we can complicate it, but it’s really simple. It’s a conversation with God. All He wants is for you to talk to Him!  And we can be totally honest with Him. If you’re angry about something, you can tell Him. If you’re sad and lonely, you can tell Him. If you’re happy and thankful, you can tell Him. Be yourself and just talk with Him. Keep it simple. There’s no need to impress God with your words. Whatever your need is, He knows, but He also wants to know that you rely on Him and Him alone to provide for that need! When you’re having a conversation with someone you don’t do all the talking. You also listen. So, take time during prayer to just sit and listen to what God is speaking to you!

Really, there’s so many ways to spend time with Him, and it’ll look different for each of us. As we spend that time with Him, you’ll notice that you start to become more like Him. It’ll be easy to get distracted and let time spent with Jesus slip away, but make the choice to have that time with Him each day, not because you have to, but because you want to! It brings a smile to His face when we take that time to be with Him daily.

Action Step: 
Try spending 10 – 20 minutes today either reading your Bible, praying, journaling, or one of the other ways we talked about spending time with God. Find what works best for you and start making that a daily habit!

My Prayer:
Jesus, thank You that You want to spend time with me every day, and help me to become more like You! Thank You that You hear my prayers and I can have a conversation with You just like anyone else.  Please help me to make the time each day to spend with You. Amen.