Spending Time With God

God wants us to spend time alone with Him and intimately communicate with Him, to enjoy fellowship with Him, to trust and follow Him. Many of us substitute other things in place of spending time with God. And we allow the things this world has to offer to distract us, instead of fully focusing on God.

 

In order to get to know God better, we need to give time to Him. If we want to develop a relationship, we set aside time to do so in order to spend quality time with no agenda or distractions. God wants to spend quality time with us, time when He has our undivided attention.

 

 

Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, understood this:

 

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42).

 

Mary chose to spend time with Jesus and refused to be distracted; Martha chose not to spend time with Him. Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better.

 

 

Given how incredibly wonderful God is, it is somewhat astonishing how little time many of us spend on deepening our relationship with Him. If we let God captivate our hearts with His love, we will desire to be with Him above anything else. Spending time with God is important and it is of crucial importance to the way we live.

 

But it never seems urgent, and as a result we find it easy to postpone, delaying indefinitely until it never happens. However the window of opportunity is now: "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). 

 

The important thing is that we learn to rest in His presence, to slow down and turn off the noise inside, and to set aside our busyness and our own agendas. Spending time with God is not about us doing or achieving anything (even when praying) but about a relationship. So we need not strive but only relax and be silent, becoming aware of His loving presence.   

 

The big question remains:

 

Are we spending time with God or are we going on our merry way, only calling on Him like a genie in a bottle, all the while letting the opportunity of having a close intimate relationship with Him slip us by?

 

As we spend time with God, we will give up less important tasks, goals, and responsibilities that are not part of God's plan for us. At the same time we will begin to openly embrace God's love as we start to know Him more intimately.