Jesus Time 101
Most Christians believe that consistent time with Jesus is important, yet over and over, people have told me how they struggle to make that happen. A while back, I served as a mentor for a four-month discipleship program. During several years of mentoring students, I consistently received the same feedback from students after they had finished the program. They had not continued spending time with God every day. They wanted to, but when they were no longer required to do it for the program, they struggled to maintain the habit.
Perhaps you can relate. If so, I want to encourage you. This struggle is not hopeless. You can do this. God has given you the grace (divine empowerment) you need to succeed in developing a consistent habit of spending time with him. Self-control is one of the fruits of his spirit, and his spirit lives in you.
While in my early twenties, I received some very practical advice from a good friend about how to become consistent in this area, and it helped me establish a daily habit of Jesus time that has lasted me nearly twenty years. Essentially that advice was to start small. Start with a reachable goal and expand from there. So often we focus on where we want to end up eventually, and that reality is so far from where we are now that we become overwhelmed and give up.
For me, that looked like taking five minutes to pray when I first got up in the morning, while still sitting on the edge of my bed. Once I’d made that a habit, I added to it. I expanded my time and added Bible reading. Over the course of a year, I incrementally established one habit and then expanded upon it toward reaching my goal. By the end of that year, I was spending an hour a day with God, and because I’d gradually built that habit over time, the foundation for that habit was solid. And it has served me well ever since.
I am not typically a fan of formulas, especially in relationships. Yes, prayer models can be helpful, but they can also add pressure and become mundane. Instead, I operate with a set of guidelines that lead me toward a meaningful time with God without restricting me to a mold. My guidelines are simple:
1. Schedule a regular time every day when you can be alone. And don’t bring your phone! I like to do mine in the morning before the kids are awake. When you set aside time to meet with him, he will meet you in that place. God wants to meet with you and work in your life even more than you want him to.
2. Read your Bible devotionally. This is not the time to study the Bible in an academic way. Instead, simply read a chapter or read until something stands out to you. Often, the Holy Spirit will highlight a verse or section and use it to encourage you. As you read, let the words roll over you and soak into your spirit. Don’t worry if you don’t understanding something. The word of God is living and active (Heb. 4:12), and it will work in you even if you don’t fully understand it. Reading the Bible is an essential part of renewing our minds (Rom. 12:2).
3. Worship God. This does not need to include music, but it can. To worship God, all you need to do is thank him for who he is and what he has done in your life. List the ways he has blessed you and praise him for that. Thank him for his character, his faithfulness, his love, his truthfulness, and so forth. Many of the psalms are a great example of how to do this.
4. Pray for your own needs and for others. Just have a conversation with God. Tell him how you feel and what you need. Talk to God about situations that are on your heart, asking for his will to be done (Matt. 6:10). Ask him to help you mature and know his call for your life (Eph. 4:1-6). Be sure to pray with faith (belief in his promises) and declare truth over yourself. If you’re struggling with fear or unbelief, tell him, and he will help you (Mark 9:24). Remember that nothing is too small or unimportant for God. He cares about your material needs and desires (Matt. 7:11). Just make sure that your prayers are aligned with God’s will as expressed in the Bible (1 John 5:14-15). Some people find it helpful to make a prayer list of things and people to pray for every day.
5. Listen in silence. After you’re done talking to God, ask him to speak to you. Ask, “God, what do you want to tell me?” Then sit silently and wait on him (Ps. 130:5-6). He can speak to you in a variety of ways. I most often hear him through a quiet voice in my mind, a picture in my mind, a creative idea that suddenly comes to me, or an inner knowing or peace. I also like to just sit silently and focus on God’s presence with me. I think about the reality that he is with me and loves me deeply. I let myself just be still and sink into his presence (Ps. 46:10). This is another type of communication, a heart-to-heart or spirit-to-spirit communion with God that transcends words.
Jesus time doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. If you have struggled to be consistent in spending time with him, today I invite you to take one step toward creating a habit of spending time with Jesus. Make a plan for your first step toward your goal, and then do it.
It won’t always be fireworks, but it will always be fruitful. It’s like marriage. The daily moments aren’t all fireworks, but they are very important. A deep relationship requires both fireworks and faithfulness. God loves to meet us with the fireworks. He loves to speak to us and overwhelm us with his goodness and love. He also loves when we cultivate faithfulness in his presence in the more mundane moments. Both matter. Both take us deeper.
Nothing in your life will be more rewarding than cultivating your relationship with Jesus. He already knows everything about you, but he can only have real relationship with you if you share your heart with him. That is his deep desire—to know you and connect with you.
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