Faith has always played an important role in my life.

Over the years, I have dove deeper into my faith and my relationship with Christ. Putting God at the center of my life has allowed me to grow and strengthen our personal relationship. I have attended many faith-oriented events including Younglife and Wyldlife camps, retreats, church events, etc. All of which have had major influences on my walk with Christ.

However, there is much more to strengthen your faith than attending such events. While these events give you a great Christ-centered community, a safe place, a camp/retreat "high", etc, these things will eventually come to an end or the slowly wear off.

However, there is so much we can do to keep our focus on Christ and keep faith a priority. I will be the first to admit, it is not easy sacrificing what little time we seem to have in our day to spend with God. We live such busy lives, always on the go, attempting to do it all. However, the most important priority in our lives should be God. So the only thing we can do is try our best to spend as much time with him as possible.

After all, he has spent an eternity loving us. So how exactly do we spend time with God? Well, of course, prayer is the best form of communication God has blessed us with. But there can be many types of prayer, as well as other ways of sharing our lives with God. I'm going to share with you some ways I have learned from others, all of which are worthwhile ways to spend time with Christ.

1. Spontaneous Prayer

So what is spontaneous prayer? This is something I heard about on a recent retreat I went on at Purdue called Boiler Awakening. To be honest, it's exactly what it sounds like. Spontaneous prayer can take place at any time of the day, anywhere you want, anyhow you want. You can pray while walking home from class, driving your car, running errands, working out, watching tv, etc.

Prayer doesn't have to be some formal, grand ordeal. Prayer is literally just talking to God, it can be as formal or informal as you want. The way I like to think about it is I think of God as a friend, talk to him as you would talk to one of your friends! Share with him your day, what you're doing, etc.

Think about it, if you don't keep in touch with your friends, how will you stay friends? The same situation applies to your friendship with Christ. Spontaneous prayer can be at any time of the day, at any given moment.

In fact, I heard from a friend once that we should try and pray small prayers throughout the day, rather than one big one at the beginning or end. I heard from another friend, that she does not say "Amen" until the end of her day, that way she continues her prayers throughout the day.

Of course, these are all just ideas and suggestions. Spontaneous prayer can be whatever you want it to be!

2. Prayer Journaling

Prayer journaling is also exactly what it sounds like! Simply get a notebook, journal, etc. and just write out your thoughts/prayers. I have done this for years, and I find it extremely helpful. Journaling helps me to gather my thoughts, stay focused, and physically see my conversation with God.

Journaling, just as spontaneous prayer, can be set up however you would like! Sometimes I write in the form of letters to God, bullets points, or anything else that comes to mind. I recently learned a few techniques to consider when journaling your prayers, of which I also learned at Boiler Awakening. Here are three things you can think/write about when you journal.

The first is "Hear Him". This simply means, how did you hear/see God throughout your day. We can hear and see God every single day in our lives. Keeping an eye out for these messages can be such a cool way to encounter Christ in our daily lives. When doing this, I simply make a list of bullet points containing places/things/etc, through which I heard or saw God recently.

The second is "Remember to Ask". Yup, exactly that. Simply remember to ask God for blessings. However, this doesn't mean demand anything you want. Rather, ask God for his will for the things you encounter in your life. It is ok to ask God for certain things in your life, however, we often forget to add "if it is your will". I will admit, I am guilty of asking God for things to go a certain way in my life. However, we should really only ask of him what is his will, what he has planned for our lives.

The third, and last, the portion is "Thanks and Praise". Thank God for the blessings in your life and praise him for his works. Honestly, my favorite part of prayer is thanking Him. This is because it allows me to truly see every blessing he has given me. Thanking Him helps me to realize all that I am truly thankful for, and the things to never take for granted. Praising God goes hand in hand with thanking him. Simply praise him for how amazing he is and how awesome of a friend he is to you.

3. Reading The Bible or a Devotional

How are you supposed to read the bible? In my eyes, there is not "correct" way to read the bible. Try not to think of it as some big, intimidating book filled with rules. Because it is not! It's God's love letter to you! It is written for you, to show you his love and his awesomeness. Just crack it open and start anywhere! I think it is helpful to take notes as you read, highlighting, underlining, etc. anything that stands out to you.

I also think it is helpful to paraphrase words or phrases that may be confusing, so you can better understand the passages. Devotionals are also a great way to spend time with Christ. There are so many daily devotionals out there, all of which are great! I highly recommend incorporating a daily devotional in your life, I have found them extremely helpful.

4. The MBOC

Lastly, we can spend time with Christ by spending time with each other. Now, I know what you're thinking, What is the MBOC? MBOC stands for the Mystical Body of Christ. We make up the MBOC. Each and every person on this earth is a part of the MBOC. All brothers and sisters in Christ, we are responsible for acting as the MBOC.

The MBOC does exactly what it stands for, acts as one body. As a part of the MBOC, we can all come together to act as one body under Christ. In times of joy, sorrow, hurt, regret, laughter, or any other time of our lives, we can turn to the MBOC. As the MBOC, it is not just our responsibility, but our joy to support and uphold each other. When you feel the need to experience God's love and mercy, turn to the MBOC.