Monday, 06 October 2008
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Why Is It So Hard to Spend Time With God?
Why is it so hard sometimes to spend time with Jesus (and God and the Holy Spirit)?
Seriously, I will be on a good run for awhile. I will specifically schedule time before I go to bed to read my Bible and pray a detailed prayer that doesn't just generically say "Thank you God for another day and for blessing me" but to actually think about all the people I've come across who've asked me to pray for them for some situation or another or even for people who didn't ask for me to pray, but it was on my heart to do so.
Then something will happen where I'm too tired or too distracted to spend time with God and before you know it, it's been several weeks and I haven't cracked open my Bible. At that point my prayer life consists of mini "popcorn prayers" of forgiveness for whatever sin I've committed at the moment or just being thankful for being alive. The killing part is that I know I'm supposed to spend time with God. I can actually see the difference in my personality when I do, but oftentimes we don't always do what we're supposed to do.
When I fall into my pattern, I remind myself that spending time with God is not a chore. I'm pretty sure He wouldn't appreciate me or anybody else seeing it that way. Even in the natural we can tell if someone is hanging out with us just because they feel it's "the right thing to do" vs just enjoying the pleasure of our company. It's really a privilege to spend time with Him. When I put my mind on these thoughts, it's a bit easier to talk to Him on a much more regular basis.
I'm reminded of a few things in writing this post -they help me and if someone happens to read this, I hope it helps you too:
1) God knows our heart -yes, we should set aside time to pray; however, He already knows what we're thinking, so that means He already knew what we were going to say.
2) Romans 8:26-27 says that when we don't know how to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to God's will (I've paraphrased this, so don't send me comments about not being accurate, lol)
3) 2 Peter 3:9 (paraphrasing again) says that God is patient toward us. He knows we don't do what we're supposed to do all the time, but He believes that eventually we're gonna get it right.
Anyway, God asks us to do things for our benefit, not His. To repeat what I said earlier, I can see the change in myself when I've consistently spent time with God. Here's to a making a habit to talk to God every day, no matter how hard it is!
Do you struggle with making time for God? Why do you think it's hard to spend time with God?
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Comments (17)
Because God doesn't exist in spacetime. It's more of a universal consciousness than a being, that's why it is both completely pointless and totally useful to pray. When you pray (in my case, meditate) you actually get in touch with your own intentions, not some bearded white guy on a cloud.
it's the easiest thing in the world to spend time with God! just talk to Him...i talk to Him in the car, when i work out, cooking, doing laundry..you get my point...we joke a lot and share cool things all day long!
do the Lord's bidding, and everything else just fills in... we've use this example with "walnut and rice" walnut is Lords things, rice is the things of this world... grab a cup and pour in rice first then put walnut... some walnut wont fit in... but if you put in walnut in first, then rice everything will fit in right...
maybe that's because some of us don't have enough faith in God. some of us doubt the usefulness of praying. of course i do hope there is God who listen to and salvage us.
For years I'd go through the cycle of resolving to make time with God, only to continue to fail. It was only after God brought me to the end of myself (and continues to do so), that I now crave time with God. I can't go a day without taking time with Him in prayer/meditation/study/reading/journaling.
We won't go to the Living Water so long as we aren't truly thirsty. We won't eat of the Bread of Life unless we're truly hungry. That's part of what Jesus mean by hungering and thirsting after righteousness. We pant like a deer. We cry out, "Who have I in heaven but You?" All we've relied on has to come up empty. It comes to the point where we have no one/nowhere else to turn to. It's only then that we can see that He alone has the Words of Life. We know there is no life for the branch apart from abiding in the True Vine.
Keep in mind that Satan wants to keep us from spending time with God because God is the source of our Life but the thief has come to steal, kill and destroy. There's more to the question "Why is it so hard to spend time with God?" than meets the eye. There's a battle going on for our souls.
I make time for God as I'm doing something that doesn't require a whole lot of thought - taking a shower, walking, doing the dishes, exercising, etc. Sometimes I talk to Him as I'm trying to fall asleep. I jokingly ask Him not to be offended if I fall asleep in the middle of the conversation.
It can be hard to make time for Him because we get so caught up in ourselves and our own little lives, that we forget how truly insignificant we are. Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow (Psalm 144:4).
Here's something i learned 4rm my youth Pastor in 8th grade & it has stuck w/ me every since then try it and see if it help's you its an acroyom :H.a.b.i.t.s
H-ang - hang time with God (John 15:15)
A-accountabitily- accountability with other believers (proverbs27:17)
B-ible - Bible memorazition (Psalm 119:11-16)
I-nvolevement- involement in a church family (1 Cor.12:12,27)
T-ithe- tithing commitment (Mal. 3:10)
S-tudy- studying God's word (Matthew 6:33)
As a previous post says, talk to Him all the time. Abba, Father is available to you 24/7. You never have to make an appointment and He won't put you on hold while someone "more important" is praying. Talking to Him consistently is fun, but the real fun is when you start to hear Him above all the other noises grabbing at your attention.
It's tough to engage God on a daily basis even after we get our daily religious routines down, whether it be bible-reading, prayer, singing or all of the above.
I read my bible everyday...kudos to me....I pray everyday....more kudos to me.....I sing praise songs to God....even more kudos to me. But you know what? Some days I go through the motions and all this religious devotion I have is nothing but dirty rags (menstrual cloth), a pile of rubbish (shit) in the sight of God. He doesn't want our deeds but our heart. Our Father calls us to seek His Face, in Philippians Paul calls us to "KNOW HIM and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings." Our spiritual development is a process so I encourage all of you who struggle with spending time with God to not be discouraged. Take heart brothers and sisters. Do what you need to do to connect with God, whether it be going on a walk, cranking up some crazy music, or just simply being still. He promises to lead you and grow you as you submit yourself to Him. The last thing He wants is another religious Pharisee that goes through the motions. He wants followers who will come and humbly sit at his feet. Whatever you do don't give up in seeking Him, don't condem yourself for your failures. His grace is sufficient in your weakness.
@tialoca_talks@xanga - I love that.
It can be hard to make time for God. Our ego gets in the way. I pray that God reminds me when I forget to think of Him, and I bring a rosary with me wherever I go.
@Purplemoon3@xanga - i love that! thanks!
i agree with what u said.Indeed it is important to spend tome wih God.. I have post something like this is either in my 1st blog or in my 2nd blog=]
this is my 1st blog=] nice sharing!!
I know when I pray everyday, read my Bible, meditations, stay involved my life goes really smoothly. But I guess it's human nature to slide a little at times - there are a million excuses, work, I'm tired, too busy - when I find myself doing that - making excuses - my spiritual life suffers and therefore I suffer. I just get back up and start with the basics and do the things I know make me feel better. Works everytime!
I think that's why I've been having a hard time these last few days! I know that I've needed to talk to God, but then I'll put it off to watch tv or to rest or go to sleep. That's why I haven't been feeling so well because I keep putting it off knowing that it needs to be done. He is the source of my success and I need to stop putting off time with him. Thanks for this post.
thesis is supposed to be difficult and it's supposed to take all of my time. and yet, in the six weeks i've done it, i've never been closer to God as I have been during that time. In spite of everything, I've actually thought "about all the people I've come across who've asked me to pray for them for some situation or another or even for people who didn't ask for me to pray, but it was on my heart to do so."
i used to struggle finding time for God... but after that experience, wherein God showed me the miracle of absolute faith in Him, I don't think I will ever put Him aside again... at least I hope not... but I'm human and prone to failure. It's difficult because it doesn't seem like it's worth the time unlike everything we put on that list... but it is. trust me.