Whether you call them Quiet Times, Daily Devotions, or just Bible Study, our daily time we spend with God is the most important part of our day. Why then, are we so often frustrated and left wanting more at the end? Here are a few things that may be keeping you from having the deep and meaningful time with God that you want.
1) You Aren’t Having a Devotion
The number one thing seems pretty obvious but it is actually far from it. Most of us want to have that daily time, we hear our friends and pastors talk about daily time with God and somehow we miss the boat. Our lives are incredibly busy and a daily devotion is just another thing we feel like we have to jam into an already crowded schedule.
We are more likely to do something if we make the time to do it. Whether it means getting up early to add 30 minutes to our day or sneaking away at lunch to the park, it’s essential that we make to spend time with God. Our devotion has the potential to be most impactful part of our day, which leads me to our next point.
2) You Don’t Have A Plan
You don’t have a plan and therefore not only does your devotions seem stagnant, most of the time it isn’t even happening. The thought of starting a devotion from scratch may seem overwhelming. The Bible is a huge book with a bunch of little books and those little books have chapters and verses, it can be hard to find a starting place.
Our Daily Bread, Streams In the Desert, and Billy Graham’s Daily Devotional are great places to start. The devotions are already planned out for you day by day. All you have to do is set aside a few minutes a day, hop in, and start reading. All the hard work is already done for you.
3) You Haven’t Eliminated Distractions
How many times have you tried to have a conversation with someone and realize that you’re just talking to the top of their head? We all do it. Our phones, tablets, and laptops are great sources of distraction and anxiety for us. You need to put it down.
Your daily devotion time is one that needs to be distraction free. That #FOMO that you’re feeling is only temporary. Put your phone in airplane mode and turn off the wifi, or better yet just turn the phone off altogether. The world can survive without you for a little while. You’ll be surprised how much didn’t happen on Facebook while you were away.
4) You Didn’t Pray
So you’ve made time in your day to spend with God, you found a great daily devotion online, you turned your phone off and put it in your desk drawer, and you still feel like you didn’t get much out of your time? Then you realize that you didn’t pray. You didn’t actually talk to God and more importantly, you didn’t give Him a chance to speak to you.
Take time at the beginning of your devotion to ask God what He wants you to see. Use the opportunity to focus on the fact that you are spending time in the presence of the living God. Ask Him to give you peace, to calm your heart and still your spirit. Spend some time in silence, take a few deep breaths, and teach yourself to truly quiet your soul.
Prayer is an amazing thing, it is the open line of communication that we have with the Creator of the universe. Sadly it is also one of the greatest areas of neglect in our Christian walk. You’ll be amazed at how a little prayer can completely change your time with God.
5) You’re Not Sharing
You’re having really great devotions and now you’re ready to take the final step and start sharing! It might seem counter intuitive that sharing what you’re learning in your devotion could help you in your devotion time, but it can!
We were created for one another. That is what the great commission is all about, us going and making disciples. One of the best ways that we can disciple others and be discipled ourselves is by sharing what we are learning in our devotions.
There may be someone you know that needs to hear the encouragement that the Lord has given to you. That older man who hands out the bulletins at church could have insight on a scripture that you have been trying to figure out. One of the students or children you work with might have a perspective that changes the way you look a verse entirely.
When we share with one another we have a greater opportunity to grow as believers. Sharing opens us up to other people and can allow us to see God’s love and grace and mercy in a greater scope than we are able to do alone. Our relationship with Christ was meant to be shared with one another, not hidden away.
Put It In To Practice
Make time for God. Make a plan. Put away the things that distract you. Pray that God would show you what He wants you to see and share what He opens your eyes to. Knowing is only half the battle. We have to turn our knowledge into action.
If you have a great devotion that you think could help someone out, share this blog and post it in the comments section. And make sure to come check out FBC Lake Dallas on Saturday Night or Sunday Morning.