“I’m busy,” is probably the worst and overused excuse I use in my every day life.I am in no way lying when I say it, but sometimes the most important people in our life are the ones who you end up pushed to the side. This happens all the time, and we can try our hardest to make time for our family and friends outside of our work and other responsibilities, but what about making time for God? I know that the amount of time I spend embraced in His arms is not the amount of time he would prefer. He wants us to spend every day with him. To put it in perspective, I had a missionary one time tell me that we needed to spend 10% of our time with him each day. That means 2 hours and 40 minutes a day. (Yeah...if only I had that free time). The truth is that no matter how “busy” we claim to be, there is always time for our Lord. If we have the time and energy to scroll through social media, we have the time and energy to open our bibles and read his word, or spend 10 minutes in prayer. Here are a few tips that I am trying out in my life and in my faith journey to not only increase the time I spend with God, but embrace and remember the real reason I am here on this Earth.
1. Download a Bible and/or Devotional App
Instead of scrolling through Facebook or Twitter in the mornings or late at night, scroll through God’s word. By downloading an app on your phone, it makes reading the bible and contemplating what it means more convenient, so you can read it while waiting in line at the grocery store, drinking your morning coffee, or even on bus or subway.
2. Pray in peculiar places
This can seem redundant because EVERYONE tells you to pray. Well, there is a very good reason for that because unless we pray and talk to our Father, we can never truly have a relationship with him. I, however, struggle with finding time in my day to pray, so I make it a goal. It is difficult, but set the time apart for him, and if you can’t do that, then take him with you. Pray during your commute to work or any time you are in the car. Pray in the shower. Pray when you are working in the garden or doing a hobby of yours.
3. Pencil God in—and do it with friends.
Get together with your friends and fellow Christians every week (and I am not talking about Sunday morning!) to discuss God. Join a prayer group, or a bible study and make the commitment. By having a weekly scheduled “appointment” with Him, it makes finding time for God easier because you have already planned it into your schedule. I believe the most important part in this tip is to do it with others and join a community because they can keep you accountable and you can grow with others in your faith.
4. Make it a family event
If you have young children, escaping their presence can be almost impossible at times. And when they get older, it can be impossible to find time to even be in the same room as them. Instead of trying to get away from your family to spend time with God, bring everyone along with you. Talk with them openly and pray vulnerably alongside each other. Even just make story time from the bible that night. (The Old Testament has some AWESOME stories!) By teaching your children the Word of God and worshipping with them can grow your faith unbelievably. (Plus, God really likes it.) Now, I do not have kids yet, but I do have family who will do these things with me when we are together. Sometimes just asking can open up a conversation worth having.
