Spending time with God every single day should be our top most priority.
Now, I know I’m not the only one who struggles with finding time to spend with God. But I’ve learned that it’s not about finding time to spend with God, it’s about MAKING time to spend with Him.
We tend to make time for the things that matter to us, and God-time should be no different.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
~ Mathew 6:33
I’ve been casually perusing job sites recently to see if anything interesting catches my eye. And there are days that I admittedly will spend an entire hour or two doing just that.
Or how about scrolling through social media, or binge-watching Netflix shows. We make time for those things, and yet…it’s hard to find time to spend with God.
What I’ve learned about myself is this: Even though there are days where it feels genuinely difficult to find five minutes to myself, I somehow still manage to get certain things done. Why? Because I carve out special time specifically for those activities. The question then becomes ‘why didn’t I carve out that time for God?’.
Why do we so often choose watching a movie, or scrolling through Facebook, or texting, or a multitude of other activities over spending time with God.
We should want to get to a place where spending quality time with our Father brings us excitement!
It’s a Choice to Spend Time with God
I think it boils down to choices. And unfortunately, our fleshly desires often overpower our spiritual needs.
For example, in the flesh, I would much rather watch the next ten episodes of my favorite TV show. I think most everyone can relate to this.
And what about my fellow stay-at-home-moms out there. When I first decided to stay home with my son, I pictured having all this amazing time to get stuff done.
I would finally have the extra time I needed. Now, I can finally get closer to my heavenly Father.
Well, let me tell you. Even as a SAHM, I still face the same struggles of “finding time” to spend with the Lord. And you know why? It’s not because I don’t have the time. It’s because my flesh often wins out.
My son keeps me busy for the larger portion of the day. By the end of a very long day, I am just as beat as if I was working a nine-to-five. I remember coming home from work and just being exhausted. I still have plenty of days like that!
And at the end of a very long day, or even midday when he is finally down for his nap, guess what I want to do…sit down in front of that TV and just zone out.
But It’s these moments that test us. And it’s these moments that we must push through.
So, I think I’ve discovered some “hacks”, if you will, to stealing time with God in between the chaos of the day. Below, I have listed 8 ways you can make time to spend with God when you feel like you don’t have time.
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- Study the Bible online throughout the day: I use the Bible app to read scripture throughout the day. I sneak some verses in between playtime and feeding time. This is convenient because you don’t need your physical Bible. If you have a phone with an internet connection, you can make this happen anywhere. Most of us have our phones attached to our hips all day anyway.
- Play an audio version of the Bible: Your hands are full. You’re making breakfast, and the kids are running around wreaking havoc. No worries. Play the Bible on audio! It’s a hands-free way to read the Word.
- Pray amid the ‘busy’: Finding quiet time to pray can be difficult with little ones. And nothing beats praying in a quiet room with no distractions from your time with God. However, God knows your circumstances. If you’re a parent, and you have to pray with a giggling baby beating toys in the background, I’m pretty sure God will understand. At work, pray at your desk! I used to do that all the time. Take a moment, bow your head, and say a quiet prayer. He meets us where we are!
- Sing worship songs anytime: This one is easy. Crank up your radio and sing along to some worship songs in the car, while you’re cleaning at home, at your desk at work if you can use headphones. My son loves music, so this one is easy for me.
- Converse with God internally: Talk to God internally. This requires so little effort. Have those important conversations with God internally. Speak to Him as if He were in the room with you. Most of us cannot shut our brains off anyway. So start talking to God internally.
- Wake up before everyone else does (or stay up later): This one can be challenging for me. Right now, my son still sleeps in our bedroom. So setting an alarm early enough to get up before he does is impossible. But luckily, some days my internal clock wakes me up (if my son doesn’t) and I’m up anyway. I use the extra time to go read the Bible and pray. And some days, I’m up at 3 am because my son decided he wanted to nurse. And instead of going straight back to sleep, I go ahead and spend a half hour or so with God.
- Ask someone to relieve you: Again, this applies to my fellow parents out there. But if you are really just struggling to carve out that time, ask for help. Ask your spouse, if you have one, to give you half an hour of alone time.
- Do it as soon as you get home: If you don’t have kids to distract you when you get home from work, don’t make excuses. Walk in the door and praise God first thing. Before my son was born, I tried to make this a habit. Before I did anything else, I would spend time with God, whether that was reading the Bible, or spending time in prayer. I would make sure to do it before I started dinner, cleaned, and before my husband got home when the house was nice and quiet.
I think the biggest thing to remember is this: You must MAKE the time. The time will not suddenly appear. No matter your circumstances. The enemy is hard at work and our flesh is weak. Be strong in the spirit, walk and lean on the spirit, and allow the Spirit to overthrow the flesh’s desire to put God last in your day.
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