Spending consistent time with God gives you peace for the day, equips you with knowledge and understanding, and helps you to keep a kingdom mindset no matter what circumstances might come up.
"The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple." Psalm 119:130
Personally, I want may days to be full of the peace of Jesus and understanding. I know that starts with spending time with God consistently, but I constantly hear people talking about how difficult it is to find consistent time to spend time with God.
Many of us know it's important and have the desire to set up a habit where God takes priority daily, but in the busy and distracted culture we live in, it's difficult to implement.
Here are a few quick tips to help you start a consistent habit of spending time with God if you don't already have one, or to help you find a way to spend time with God that you love!
Find a resource you like
When I pictured what "quiet time" should look like I really only had two visions of it. One that is most often pictured on Pinterest, of lots of highlighters and a Bible study and accompanied by talented Bible journal skills. Another, with a big study Bible, maybe a concordance or two, and a notebook.
Neither of those visions actually really work for me though. What's most important is finding a resource that you love. Maybe you love your ESV study Bible, maybe you love how pretty Alabaster Co. Bibles are. Maybe you need a simple reading plan, maybe you love having a devo to work through. Maybe you're a podcast person and you need to try some different audio versions. Experiment until you find what draws you in and holds your attention the best.
Start small
It's pretty much impossible to start any new habit if you try to start with too ambitious of a goal in mind. Reading the Bible in a year might be a lot if you haven't ever been consistent with reading the Bible. Spending time with God daily should be a priority, but it's a lot easier to start with five or ten minutes than trying to start with an hour of intense study and prayer time every day.
Begin to make time with God daily a habit by evaluating where you're at right now, and then setting a realistic goal. If you have a hard time focusing on prayer, don't try to pray for a specific time frame every day. Just try to pray every day, celebrate your successes, and begin to grow your goals and vision for your growth as you succeed.
Pair it with a habit you are consistent with
One of the biggest reasons why people have told me they don't have consistent time to spend with God is because they don't have time. We live in a culture where busyness is celebrated and being tired and overworked is the norm.
Where can you find time to spend with God in the midst of crazy schedules? I think it's easiest to just pair up your time with God with existing parts of your daily routine. I love to pray in the shower. I love to worship in my car. Use your commute time as intercession time, or your meal prep time as a chance to listen to a devo podcast.
Have accountability
Sometimes, I think it can feel awkward or embarrassing to admit that it's difficult to find time to spend with God. But it's actually a pretty common problem. If you let someone else know you're struggling to find time with God, they're likely going to say they are too.
Consider sharing with a safe person in your life what your time with God looks like right now, and how you'd want it to look. Let them know what your goals are and ask them to check in with you as you pursue a more consistent rhythm of time with God.
Pray!
The best and easiest way to change is simply to invite the Holy Spirit to change you. He's in you and ready to be your helper in the process of spending more time with God. Start to ask Him to remind you of Him throughout the day, to help you to prioritize time with Him, to assist you in starting new rhythms or finding more consistent patterns. It's so worth it!
How have you been able to set up a consistent habit of spending time with God?