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WEEK 08 – God Time
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WEEK 08 – God Time
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WEEK 08 – God Time
This week we’re talking about “God Time.”
One of the big problems amongst Christians everywhere is one of not giving time to God.
We spend time on “our schedule”, but don’t make it a priority in our heart of hearts to spend time just us and the Father.
And you’ve got to know that God knows and feels it.
When we first come to know Jesus more personally there is a deep passion for spending time with Him.
The we come across the Scripture in 1 Thessalonians about “praying without ceasing” and we wonder if we’re “really supposed to just pray all hours of the day?”
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Then we learn that Paul isn’t telling us to just sit in some room praying 24 hours a day, but that He is introducing the idea to us that we can, and should, start to make our entire day a discussion with God, no matter where we go or what we do.
But somewhere along the way, praying without ceasing, becomes all the praying that we ever do.
We start to “bring Jesus with us wherever WE go”, but not giving any time set aside to just be with Him, and nothing else.
GOD TIME is exactly that. Coming back to the incredibly life-going practice and discipline of giving God 1-on-1 time.
It can be in Scripture, in prayer, journalling, you name it. But it is just you and the Father. Talking. Listening. Communing with your maker. Treating Him like He is a priority in your life. And enjoying how much exponentially more satisfying it is than any other time spent any other way.
David did it…
“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
-2 Samuel 7:18 (& 1 Chronicles 17:16)
Moses did it in the “tent of meeting”… Exodus 33:7-11
And even when Moses would leave the tent of meeting, Joshua would stay even longer… Exodus 33:11
Jesus even did it… all the time. He was constantly stealing away to spend time just Him & the Father.
- Mark 1:35
- Matthew 14:23
- Luke 6:12
This week, set a specific time in your schedule (actually write it in your calendar) when you will spend some 1-on-1 time with the Father.
Go on a walk with Him and talk to each other.
Pray or read Scripture in your living room.
Mix it up. Ask Him what He wants to do together, and go do that.
Send time with Him like you would with a close friend.
No matter what you do, come into your time together EXPECTANT to start getting to know Him better, and to hear from Him.
He’ll speak to you through nature/creation, His Word, a thought He drops into your spirit, or maybe even an audible voice (it’s happened before to people).
No matter what, yes, pray without ceasing… but ALSO go in before the Lord… into the “tent of meeting” where it’s just you and Him.
Send 1-on-1 time with Jesus early in the morning, schedule it (because we schedule the things that are most important to us), and let Him shape the whole rest of your day from that point forward.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
- If you already have a set time with the Father every day, do you approach your time together expectant to hear from Him still? How could you adjust your heart posture towards more pursuit of Him?
- If you don’t already have a set time together, when could you set that time? What would you need to adjust in the schedule to prioritize your time together? (waking up earlier, going to bed earlier, etc.)
- What is God speaking to you in your time together? If you don’t already, start to journal it, so that you can look back over your seasons to see what God was speaking to you about in those seasons… you’ll be glad that you did someday 🙂
SCRIPTURE
Psalm 1:2 / 1 These 5:16-18 / Revelation 3:20 / Mark 1:35 / Matthew 14:23 / Luke 6:12 / 2 Samuel 7:18 / 1 Chronicles 17:16 / Exodus 33:7-11
QUOTES
“The man who would know God must give time to Him!”
-A.W. Tozer
“I have often wished that there were some way to bring modern Christians into a deeper spiritual life painlessly by short easy lessons, but such wishes are vain. No shortcut exists! God has not bowed to our nervous haste nor embraced the methods of our machine age. It is well that we accept the hard truth now: the man who would know God must give time to Him! He must count no time wasted, which is spent in the cultivation of His acquaintance. He must give himself to meditation and prayer hours on end. So did the saints of old, the glorious company of the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the prophets and the believing members of the holy Church in all generations. And so must we if we would follow in their train! May not the inadequacy of much of our spiritual experience be traced back to our habit of skipping through the corridors of the Kingdom like little children through the marketplace, chattering about everything but pausing to learn the true value of nothing?…Lord, help me to appreciate my time with You, and remind me that Your place in my schedule is the most important.”
-A. W. Tozer
WEEKLY FOCUS
This week, read through each one of these Scriptures each morning.
Think about just how valuable it is to spend 1-on-1 time with your Maker.
Ask God if there are any areas you need to surrender or change in order to give Him more of your time to just be together.
Let this theme guide your God time all week, and even your thoughts and conversation with Him through out your days, all week long.
Let Him speak to you about this idea of giving Him more of your time or having a committed “God-time” every day, and see what He says.
We’d love to hear your feedback, so hop into the devos conversation thread in SLACK & we’re excited to see what the Lord speaks to you this week.
BLESSINGS!
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