“I need more of God”, or “God I want to be closer to you” – This is my cry often. The other day I was wondering what is stopping me from being closer to God? The short answer is me. I am stopping myself from being closer to God. I acknowledge that I need more of Him, but I don’t know if I’m doing much about it.
If you are like me, there is never enough time in the day to accomplish what I need to accomplish. But somehow, if I want to watch a television show or spend time on social media, I make time for it.
James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
God is not that complex. We need to stop making our relationship with Him so complex that we end up not growing or enjoying the relationship.
Here are 3 things you can do to make the most of your quiet time
Maximize the Time You Have – While it is great to spend a great deal of time during God desires quality time. I think we can all agree that spending 30 minutes engaged in meaningful conversation is more valuable than spending an 1 ½ with a person who is not really paying us any attention. The same is true with our relationship with God. Whatever time you have to spend, maximize it. Get rid of distractions (if your house is noisy, try getting up before everyone else or staying up later than everyone else). If the phone or computer is a distraction, try putting your phone / computer in another room so that you can focus more.
Get out a pen and a notebook – I know, I know. Who uses those these days? I do, I do. I mean if you have to, you could go digital as well 🙂 These will come in handy as you read and study scripture.
Sometimes I write what I’ve learned from the scripture, some days I write practical applications of the scripture in my life. Some days I may have questions or somedays I may have prayers. Over time, you will be able to see your growth and on days when you just can’t figure out what to study, you can review the notes from a previous study day.
Commit and Be Consistent – When I am not consistent in my quiet time, I carry my emotions on my sleeve, my mouth runs a bit more and I’m usually not quite as productive or focused and my judgment can get cloudy. Think about something you decided to do recently. Half the battle is making up your mind and the other half is actually putting in the time and effort consistently to make it happen. Walking with God is no different!
Father, thank you for giving me the wisdom I need to help me to prioritize my time and activities. As I draw near to you, you draw near to me.
