Time with God

<<focused interaction>>

In the OT God designated a weekly ‘time out’ for the Israelites to rest and worship Him (Ex 16:23, 20:8-11). It is to our benefit that we also take time away from work and family responsibilities to rest and look after our bodies, besides meeting with other Christians in regular, collective worship. However, this joint worship should not be a substitute for private time (ideally daily) with God, to focus on and hear from Him, in what is sometimes called a ‘quiet time’ of personal Bible reading and prayer. Do not be so busy working for Him that you don’t have time to report to head office for orders!

While we must be diligent and apply ourselves to our secular responsibilities, it is vital to have earmarked times for being connected to our source of life, receiving regular input into our souls, and not trying to go it alone (Lk 10:38-42; Jn 15:4,5).

Do not let Satan or life’s pressures cheat you out of this special time

Don’t rush or view the privilege of having a quality, one-on-one audience with the King of kings, the creator of the universe, who desires interaction with us as just another job to be ticked off your to-do list. Rather than being restricted to a particular time there should be a sensitivity to the Lord and inner communion of heart with Him throughout the day – a moment by moment consciousness of Him as we ‘walk in the Spirit’ (Gal 5:16,25).

Come to this appointment with an expectancy of intimacy with your Saviour and soon-to-be host for all eternity. It should be a vital time of infusion of the divine life into your person. Adam and Eve were honoured to converse with God in the Garden yet, after sinning, they were they not keen for this interaction (Gen 3:8-13). Similarly, when our conscience is troubling us and we are slow in putting matters right we are reluctant to spend quality time alone with Him. Sin always separates while repentance restores relationship. The promise of Scripture is, “Come near to God and He will come near to you” (Jas 4:8). We will be bountifully rewarded for the effort as God wants to communicate with us (Jer 29:13). He brings things into ‘focus’ as we read His Word and impresses thoughts into our spirits – God speaks, are we listening? If we are not hearing it is normally the result of us not being receptive – we need the attitude of Samuel, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:10).