2017
By Joel Comiskey, check out coaching
God spoke words of beauty through the prophet Isaiah: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (Isaiah 55:1- 3).
Having a daily quiet time will help you to know God, feed from His word, and be empowered by his Spirit. In the quiet time, you’ll worship the King of kings, listen to his voice, and receive direction for each day. You’ll feel empowered to serve others. However, many leaders have a thwarted view of spending time with Jesus daily.
- Religious Ritual
Spending daily quiet time is not a meritorious act to make us worthy in God’s sight. We don’t do it to prove ourselves before God, to offer Him another good work. Rather, our quiet time is a response to His love. Because Jesus loves us and has made us righteous by His blood, we desire to spend time with Him and know Him more intimately. We long to be with Him—not because we have to, but because we want to.
A. W. Tozer, a spiritual leader of the twentieth century, says, “We pursue God because and only because He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to pursuit.” God’s grace births a desire in us to spend time with him. We simply respond to His love and desire to enter His presence.
Sometimes, unforeseen circumstances make it impossible to spend time with God. On those days, simply say, “God, I thank you for Your grace, and I thank You that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
- 1,2,3 Formula
Spending daily time with God does not mean following a two-step formula or keeping a legalistic checklist of “must do” activities. After all, “Variety is the spice of life;” it’s usually best to be flexible in spending time with God. When I feel overwhelmed, I like to pour out my heart to God. On other occasions, I desire to read the Word more. Getting to know God involves the same kind of spontaneous interaction needed to grow any relationship.
When a husband and wife sit down together to talk, they don’t have a checklist of topics to discuss. Instead, there is a natural ebb and flow in the conversation. Why? Because the goal is to get to know one another. In the same way, spending time with God is all about getting to know God. The purpose is to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Limiting the Quiet time to One Thing
The Bible provides the spiritual sustenance of devotional time, but spending time with God is more than Bible reading. Prayer is only a part of quiet time. It should also include reading God’s Word, worship, confession, and listening.
- Reading a Devotional Guide
It’s great to have a plan, but it’s important to go beyond the plan and enter into the presence of God Himself.
The power to minister is the overflow of God’s love. The only thing leaders have to give is what God has already given to them. Devotional time is the time to get charged and refreshed in order to refresh others. Just remember that spending time with him is a relationship with the living God, not a duty to be performed.