Lesson 3: Building a lasting relationship with God series.
SPENDING TIME WITH GOD (DEVOTION)
Everyone loves to spend time with the person whom they love. So, if you love God, you should cultivate the habit of spending time with God in what we call a “quiet time” or “devotion.” If you truly love God, it should be seen in the amount of time you spend with Him. I must confess that as a new Christian many years ago, I found this challenging. I would read my Bible and pray for a few days and the next days, I lost the zeal. It was a roller coaster experience. Though I knew it is important for me to have a quiet time, I was lost, and I lacked the understanding of how to create this intimacy.
Most times, I was bored, either from not knowing what to pray about or the fact that I couldn’t grasp the pages of the Bible I read. Many times, I would research on how to pray effectively or follow some set of rules to read my Bible. I would say the discipline helped me, but I still felt that I didn’t measure up. I had the form but not the experience. As I went through this, I was afraid to share my failures with my peers for the fear of being judged by others. After many prayers to God for help, He answered, and He broke me away from legalism and the traditions that held me captive from enjoying true fellowship with God. Once I started on this path, I have found that I am always rushing back into God’s presence for more. I will share the tips with you later in this lesson.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: How can you know or love the person with whom you don’t spend time? Or how would you have a friend if you never spend time with them? How can you say you are a child of God if you don’t have a relationship with Him?
As a young Christian, you need to initiate a path to growth. You have to be grounded in your faith. Reading your Bible, praying, and fellowshipping with fellow Christians are some of the ways to become grounded in Christ. Imagine a farmer that plants a young seed; he must water, nourish, and cultivate the soil for the seed to grow and produce more fruits. If he doesn’t, the seed will die. You are the seed and God is the soil. The necessary nutrients for your growth are the Word of God, meditation, and prayers.
Just like an earthly friendship, building a friendship with God takes a process, deliberate investment, and an enormous amount of effort and time.
KNOW THIS: God loves you dearly. He wants to walk with you; He wants to talk to you every day. I have yet to see a father who claims to love his children but does not have interest in spending time with them. Your Heavenly Father yearns for a deeper walk with you, and step by step, He leads you to the green pastures. Those who do not follow God may never get to the green pastures.
The more time you spend with God, the more conformed you are to His image. The more you move closer to God, the more you move far away from sin. The more you spend time with God, the more His image and personality reflects on you. At first it may seem laborious, but when the fruit of spending time with God starts becoming evident in your life, the burden disappears and it becomes a delight. You know it’s a delight when you miss spending time with Him, and you know you are not complete; you know something vital is missing. But I must warn you, getting to that point takes time. Ignore the distractions, the laziness, and the enemy’s wit; pull through until your root starts shooting and becomes deeply rooted. At this point, you just aim to go deeper. The deeper you go, the merrier it gets.
The power of a simple prayer, word study, and meditation can go a long way in building your relationship with God. You have to form the habit (Deuteronomy 4:29). I will cover each in detail in the next lessons. The goal here is to inform you that devotional time should be a delight and not an obligation or a task. You need to know when and how to spend time with God.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Why do you think we need to spend time with God?
- You need directions in a dark world (Psalm 25:4).
- It helps you become more Christ-like. Have you noticed how you imitate habits from a friend with whom you spend much time?
- It prepares you for the journey you have ahead of you (2 Peter 1:3-4).
- It helps you to know Him.
Here are some tips on maintaining a steady devotion time:
Prioritize – What is important comes at the top of the list. The presence of God is the most important thing in any believer’s life. Put priority on spending time with your Maker. He is the One that has your life’s master plan and can give you hints for a great life. Those hints are given in His presence. Do it first thing in the morning if possible. If not, resolve in your mind that whenever you choose, it is the most important aspect of each day.
Find what works for you – What devotion book interests you? Which Bible plan? When and where? The rule is: don’t copy someone else’s worship style to fulfill your devotion. Begin small. Some pray for five hours a day. If you copy that, you may not be able to maintain it, as you are not on that plain yet. The person praying for hours probably began with minutes. Don’t compete and compare but learn and strive to grow.
Rely on the Holy Spirit – You definitely need Him. He is your helper. He will teach you to pray, what to pray for, and give meaning to God’s Word when you read it. He will remind you of things, reveal the will of God to you, warn you of dangers, and move you to pray. He will change your plans every now and then, but if you obey, you are in for an awesome time.
Discipline is needed – You have to discipline yourself. There is no way around it. Get to sleep on time at night. Get out of bed in the morning. Restrict pleasure until after you have spent time with the Lord. Have an accountability partner. For example, you may not feel like having your devotion some days; have it anyway. That’s discipline.
Set a time and place – This is very important. Set a specific time each day. Mine was 6:00 am. I set the alarm to wake me up daily. If you don’t set a time, it’s most likely not going to happen. We prioritize a time and place for important things, right? Yes! Have a fixed time and place for your quiet time.
Plan and prepare – Get a notepad, pen, and Bible ready. Plan your study; think about what you will pray for. Not doing this is the number one killer of devotions. Preparation gives you a head start.
Avoid distractions – Your place of choice must be free of distraction and noise. Put aside your cell phone, Facebook, and any other distractions and clear your thoughts.
Sample flow for devotion time (This worked for me, but I switch it around every now and then. Remember, find what works for you):
*Consecration – God hates sin, so as you sit in His presence, ask for mercy for all your wrongs and enter His presence through the blood and the righteousness of Jesus.
*Worship – Prepare a list of songs ahead of time. Worship has a way of warming the atmosphere to afford you access into God’s presence. God inhabits our praises. Worship brings God closer to you (Psalm 22:3).
*Word – Read your planned study and take notes. Just write; it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. The more you write the better it becomes.
*Meditate – Meditation often leads to questions and the questions result in researches which will open you up to a better understanding of the Word. Think about what the Word is saying to you. Ask, “How can I make a change as a result of this Word?”
*Prayer – Start with a prayer of thanksgiving. Pray about what touched you from the Word. Pray about your day; pray for your needs and for the needs of others (We will look into prayer in more detail in Lesson 6). Especially pray for a heart that seeks God and loves Him.
*Put the Word in your heart throughout the day.
* Repeat the next day.
Note: Change things up every now and then. Don’t be monotonous. Have variety. Get new worship songs; some days you may choose to read the Word first and then slide into worship.
Also note that I did not put a time to it; it’s not about the timing now. When you grasp all that is necessary and begin to enjoy His presence, time becomes an issue. You may even run late for school, work, or your meeting of the day. Don’t rush it but ignore time. It can be a distraction.
This practice will become your backbone soon. Everything in your life will hinge on it.
VIDEO:
Lesson Application:
- Identify anything that you have been practicing that’s sabotaging your devotional time, if you have already started one, and plan to fix it.
- This week spend at least fifteen minutes each day using the non-traditional approach. Practice two to three of the tips for a wonderful devotion time. For example, in planning for my devotion today, I pre-planned what part of the Bible I would read this morning as I asked for the Holy Spirit’s direction; I got my note pad ready and set a specific time.
