What do you do when you are in a relationship?
Spending time together is one of the main components of a relationship- new or old.
By spending time with your significant other you get to know them, and you get to understand who they really are. What their fears are and what their favorite things are.
There’s no other way to grow closer to someone except by knowing them intimately for who they really are.
The same applies to God. If we really want to know God we must spend time with him. We must delve deeper into discovering who he really is.
Regardless of how busy our lives are, we must always try and work on making time for God if we want to grow in our walk with him.
Spending time with God verses
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
This Spending time with God verse says to seek first the kingdom of God before anything else as a prerequisite to getting and receiving any and everything that we desire in our lives.
The basis and the foundation of our lives must always be God. When we have our relationship with God sorted out then we are truly invincible.
Nothing on this sinful earth will ever shake us when we know who we are in Christ. So we must always work on making time for God.
So how do we make time and spend time with God/
We seek and find God by spending time with him. This Spending time with God verse really brings out to light what happens to us when we spend time with God.
All these things are the wants and desires that we have in our day-to-day lives. We can be sure to get everything that we desire if we pray to God.
Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
This Spending time with God verse teaches us how to pray and the results of it. When we pray the Bible says, we must not do it for the show so that the world sees how prayerful we are.
Rather by praying we will be seeking God, to know him. To make our requests known to him and to show our trust in him.
And when we do that, pray in secret with a contrite heart. God will reward you. He will answer your prayers. He will reveal himself to you if you invest in intimacy with him through prayer.
So despite the hardships, you may be facing in your life, always prioritize making time for God.
Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.
Reading the word of God is one of the ways of making time for God which teaches us how to get faith.
Faith is essentially believing in something that you don’t see. God is unseen as we discussed earlier because he is a spirit.
But believing in him takes faith. Believing that Jesus died for our sins when we really didn’t see it takes faith.
Especially in this modern world we live in whereby people need evidence before believing in anything.
But we believe in salvation. And that’s because the Bible tells us that Jesus died for our sins.
If we didn’t have the Bible we wouldn’t have known and believed this truth.
So how do we get faith in God? By reading his word and making time for God we get to know his plans for us.
We get to understand his divine purpose for our lives. And subsequently, we develop faith.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
This Spending time with God verse informs you of the best way to make time for God and have a solid relationship with God.
If you draw near to God, by spending time with God then he will also draw near to you.
Imagine courting a guy who doesn’t call or text or communicate with you. Would you even continue pushing for that relationship?
I know that one way of seeing if a guy is interested in me is if he tries to get close to me by spending time with me, being always on the phone trying to communicate with me.
Then when that happens of course I will also draw near to him after seeing his commitment and interest in knowing me.
The same applies to God. You can’t say you love God and not want to be close to him. You cant get to know him more if you don’t make time for God and spend time with him.
That makes no sense. Like you would expect a guy to pursue you- the same applies to God.
If you want to have that amazingly strong relationship with him then you have to draw near to him and spend time with him.
Mark 1:35
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
This Spending time with god verse teaches us one way of spending time with God that Jesus did.
Imagine Jesus was and is God but he too while he was on earth pursued and spent time with God the way that humans are supposed to do while on earth.
He woke up early in the morning while it was dark and prayed. Even if he was busy he always managed to make time for God. This is a way that he spent time with God.
When all the noise of the world was still down and quiet he pursued God first thing in the morning.
Of course, you can spend time with God anytime that works for you and your schedule.
It could be first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Both are OK but Jesus dedicated his first hours to God.
Spending time with God first thing in the morning is good in that you would have already dedicated your day to him and everything that happens on that day is already prayed for.
1 Chronicles 16:11
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
This Spending time with God verse commands us to ALWAYS seek God’s presence. While it’s good to do it first thing in the morning it is best to walk with God every minute of your day.
Seeking God’s presence continually means living and dwelling in his presence.
How does one do that?
We can spend time with God continually by thinking about him and talking to him throughout the day.
As we go about our day at work- the Bible says that do everything as unto the Lord. Whether you are working, think about God.
Imagine that you are working for God. When you think about that you already remember Him in your work. When you interact with your kids imagine that you want to be a godly mother and again you will think about God.
When you face any challenges or trials make a short prayer to God for help and strength. In our interactions with your friends and colleagues always try to be the light of the world and portray Jesus to everyone around you.
And by the end of the day, you will realize that you have been in his presence throughout the day.
Luke 5:16
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
This Spending time with God verses teaches us also how Jesus prayed. He would go to a desolate place to seek God more.
Listen, there is no specific place of prayer. You can literally pray from anywhere in the world.
While you are taking a shower, driving, or even cooking. Because the Bible teaches us to pray without ceasing.
But at times when you want to encounter or hear from God, you have to retreat to a quiet place where all the noise of the world is dimmed.
And you focus only on God and his presence. You shift your mind from your problems, fears, or worries and look only look into Jesus.
Usually, during this time you can hear from God. He speaks to us in different ways. You can hear an audible voice, you can feel a nudge in your spirit or you can hear a Bible verse with your answer to your situation.
But you must be wholly focused on hearing from him and doing so in a desolate and quiet place where it’s just you and God.
How to spend time with God
There are several ways that we can use to spend time with God. all these ways will work if we commit to making time for God and following through with it.
Pray as you go throughout the whole day
Prayer is an essential part of the Christian walk. When we pray we commune and communicate with our creator. It is the only way through which we can talk to God. be it in praise, worship, thanksgiving, or asking him for the requests of our hearts.
So the question becomes, how often must we pray? The Bible says
Pray without ceasing,
1 Thessalonians 5:17
This Spending time with God verse teaches us about how to spend time with God and shows us that we must always be in a state of prayer. So how can we achieve that when we have a busy life?
Whatever you do the bible says, you must do it as unto the Lord. So this means that you already are worshiping Him through doing things that glorify him.
When you decide to take a decision that is holy and righteous, then know that you are worshipping him through holiness.
As you go about your work, ask God softly for wisdom, guidance, and strength through something as simple as,
“God I am about to drive to work, please watch over me as I drive. Lord, I pray that your supernatural wisdom overpowered me so that everything that I do reflects your glory. Lord, please let your Holy Spirit influence my interactions with my colleagues at work as well as with my kids and my spouse.
Continue to make these short prayers to God as you go. Involving God in everything that you are doing. When you are unsure of what you are doing ask the Lord to direct your oath so that you make the right decision.
That there my friend is praying without ceasing. I also favor praying in the spirit or praying in tongues. It’s the single most efficient thing that you can do when there are no words.
Because remember when we don’t know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. So pray in the spirit as you drive, as you cook, clean the house, sit behind your computer, take a shower, and by the end of the day you would have literally walked with God for the whole day.
Schedule quality time (morning or before bed)
So aside from walking with God throughout the whole day, another way How to spend time with God is scheduling time with God once or twice a day.
Depending on your schedule you can plan a date night or date morning with the Lord first thing in the morning. This is the time when you plan to have your “me time” with the Lord.
We have dates in real life, even after marriage to keep the relationship alive so why not have dates with God as well right?
During human dates people eat, talk, share their compliments, and concerns, and discuss their plans.
The same must happen during your date time with God. The Bible says that men can not live with bread alone but by the word of God. So reading the word becomes our eating portion for the day and a way of How to spend time with god.
This is where we read about him to know who he is. How he thinks and what he expects from us. By reading the word we also hear the voice of God so that is a way that he can and will speak to us.
After reading the word we can praise and worship him. Put on a praise song, get off your feet, and dance your heart out. If you have an instrument the better, play it and sing praises to your maker.
When you are done praising you can then put on a worship song, put everything down, and start to worship your maker. You can bow down to worship him, you can lie prostrate down before him as a way of respect and worship.
This act of laying down our pride, everything that we think is above the word of God, and leaving only him as the Lord of our lives. Then start giving him all the glory, telling who he is and what he is. Honoring and giving him adoration.
Then lastly just pray in your own words. tell him the desires of your heart and thank him for answering because we already know that if we ask for anything in his name that is in his will for us he will answer it.
Usually, this time leaves me feeling very refreshed and peaceful if I had had issues in my heart before prayer. God usually finds a way of giving you peace and this for me comes mostly after praying in the spirit.
Audio bible throughout the day
Reading the bible is a very essential way of spending time with God in our lives but most time is simply an issue. So what do we do instead?
We can improvise if don’t have enough time to sit down and read the bible. Praise the Lord for technology we now have bibles on our phones. This means that we can read the bible any and everywhere.
On the train, on the bus or even listening to an audio bible as you drive, as you are cleaning or cooking, or sitting behind your computer.
This is a great and efficient way, especially for stories in the bible that do not really need intense concentration to understand.
Try listening to the old testament stories on your bible app as you go about your day and see the difference it will make in your life.
Worship songs as you go throughout the day
We obviously need to have a Date time with God either in the morning or in the evening as a way of How to spend time with God. But that must not be all. Instead of listening to worldly music that does not glorify God why not listen to worship music to glorify and connect God as you go?
In my case, I absolutely love worship music because even if I am not in the mood for prayer or anything I always am led to being in the spirit.
Worship music always does it for me. It brings me closer to God, opens my heart, and almost always leaves me praying in the spirit for at least the whole duration of that song.
So that there is killing two birds with one song. You get to commune and worship your heavenly father as well as pray to him, be it for a short while.
Bible study journal
Discovering journaling changed my life as far as How to spend time with God. I obviously do not journal daily, though I really wish I did, and am actually working on attaining that level.
There is bible reading by just reading and moving on and then there is the verse-to-verse reading that I do with the use of a journal.
I started this a few years back when I discovered the SOAP method of bible study. And the first book I did this for was the book of 1Corinthians. This was maybe 2 years back but I tell you, I still remember everything that I read at that time.
I would write the scripture- by paraphrasing the verse, maybe 3 verses tops if they are speaking about the same thing. The NLT in my case helps me the most when I am summarising something because I read both the NKJV (especially for meditation purposes or for writing bible verses on post-its).
Then I would write the Observation, what I have learned or understood and here I would refer to the Amplified Bible which I absolutely love for breaking down scripture so it makes sense.
Then lastly I write down the application of that word in my life. How do I use that word to help and improve or to correct wrong thinking patterns in my life?
Lastly obviously is a quick prayer where I ask God for strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit in the transformation process through that word which I would have read.
Benefits of spending time with God
So now that we have discussed a few ways on Making time for God and how to spend time with God, why must we do it would be the next natural answer. There are several benefits of spending time with God to us as believers.
Spending time with God leads to spiritual growth
How can your spirit grow when you don’t feed it? For a child to grow they need to drink their mother’s milk so that they can grow from being a baby to an adult.
1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.
So this bible verse about How to spend time with God says that we must desire spiritual milk which will help us to grow in our relationship with God.
By growing spiritually, we are transformed into the version of Christ that we are supposed to be, away from the carnal man that we are.
Spiritual growth helps us to be able to resist the devil and his wiles. When we grow spiritually we get to know more about God, how to walk with him and how to be the person that he wants us to be.
Spending time with God keeps you grounded in the word
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
This bible verse about How to spend time with God informs us about the power of the word of God. When we spend time with God through reading his word, we learn that the word of God is the voice of God.
And when we know what God desires from us, we make his word the ultimate source of all our decisions.
And when the word of God becomes a lamp and light to your actions then you will most certainly stay grounded and centered in the word of God.
Spending time with God keeps you from temptation or sin
Spending time with God helps you to resist temptation and sin. When you walk with God always, spend your time in the word, praying or even fasting you get closer to God.
Spending time with God makes you able to easily hear the voice of God and when the Holy Spirit speaks to you. And when you yield to the Spirit and his advice then you are less likely to fall for temptation and end up sinning.
But if you do not spend time with God, then you will never know what the word of God says are sins as well as his voice when he wants to correct you.