Spending Time With GOD

communicating - Praying and more importantly listening

'Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! ' Proverbs 8:34

'But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. ' James 1:25

'How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. ' Psalms 31:19

while i do pray daily, i can’t say that i make purposeful time to spend with God. my day starts and ends with prayer, listening to bible plans/scripture, but haven’t truly spent the time needed to develop that deep, meaningful relationship that i profess that i want. majority of the time my mouth is going on much more than my ears are being used to listen; my mind racing with so much stuff that it blocks out what i have i want to say; my heart is so focused on me - my wants, my needs, my desires, my issues, my problems, pretty much self-centered thoughts with no room for what the Lord is trying to say.

what is crazy in these passages is that we are provided simple instructions to spend time with Him: A) watching for me daily at my gates (i believe this is a reference to the Kingdom of Heaven, or that of Jesus, our King, on the right hand of the Father in the Palace we will be inside one day); B) to look carefully into the perfect law (this is not the law of moses, but to Christ himself who we should live out our lives through Him that sets us free); C) come to you for protection (for they that fear Him - which was placed in their hearts by the grace of God).

then what follows when we do so is so incredible: D) Joy (for waiting on Him and listening intently when He speaks); E) Blessings (listening to what Jesus told us and actually doing what He said; F) Lavished Goodness (reverential fear of the Lord, not being scared of Him). who does not want an overflowing of these. God has an overabundance of any of these for us - it will never run out.

need to spend more quality time, with me speaking much less and listening more. as Jesus intercedes for me with our Heavenly Father, i need to intentionally pay attention twice as much on hearing Him/Our Lord speak than to keep running my mouth.

have to slow down the pace before i even say anything. being mindful of the “noise” in my head, the “junk” in my heart, and blocking out whatever time killers that have caused me to not make this a priority in my life. actively schedule a time with God regardless of where i am and what i have going on. while a preferred time is best to keep me on track, i want to be sure that i am ‘wanting’ to spend it with Him, even if i have to change when it is going to be, rather than feeling obligated because i have it on my calendar.

dear Heavenly Father, help me to change whatever behavior, to remove any obstacle, that prevents me from spending quality time with you. even if it is only for a short time, teach me to be fully engaged and connected when i pray, when i worship, when i read your Word. i want to be able to clearly hear your still voice, feel your prompting, and be guided by your Holy Spirit. draw me close each and every day, in every step i take. in Jesus’ mighty and powerful name i humbly ask, amen!