The Start of Something Glorious - Ch.21
One of the most difficult things to do in life (although challenging) is not to remain pure, hear God’s voice, have visions, or experience miracles, but instead it is simply to spend time with God. It’s in that time with God that we are strengthened to remain pure, hear his voice, and all of those other good things.
Sometimes it’s our work that holds us hostage, or our sleep that paralyzes us, or our friends/family that need attention. Whatever it may be, it often appears that making time to spend with God is one of the hardest things to do as a Christian. Spending time with God can get stale and boring, especially as time goes on and you’ve been on this journey for a while, but that’s not how it should be.
I believe that having a relationship with Christ and encountering God on a daily basis keeps our spiritual walk exciting and satisfying, but this only happens by spending time with Him. Hearing, seeing, prophesying, healing, and delivering are all exciting things, but they are impossible if we don’t eliminate the distractions and make time to be with Him.
Making time to be alone with Him is something we discuss all throughout “The Start of Something Glorious” bible study book. I often refer to it as intimacy, where God says to us “enter me and see.” He wants us to see and experience all of his Glory & goodness. I also refer to making time as quiet time.
In this blog (and excerpt from my book) I want to give some practical steps on spending more time with God.
Spending time will look a little different for each of us, but in case you need some ideas for a starting line I want you to think “Time and Place.”
Set a time and a place to meet with God. My time is typically morning, but there are times that it’s hard to wake so in that case I set aside time just before bed. My place is my prayer room. For you, it might be in the afternoon at a coffee shop (preCorona), or at night time in your bedroom, or in the morning in your closet. It doesn’t matter where or when just assign a time and place to begin conditioning your body to respect that time and place.
Next, I want you to set a time requirement. This may start as 15 minutes (I don’t suggest anything less), or 30minutes, or 2 hours whatever floats your boat and fits into your schedule. The time requirement is just that, it is not a limit so feel free to go pass your allotted time. I started with 30 minutes and it soon grew to 2 hours with God. It may help to weave your quiet time into another habit – your daily reading, news review, or social media scroll. You may even need to set a reward at the end (i.e. you can’t have your icecream until you have your quiet time).
Once you have your time try to divide it evenly: Worship, Read, Listen and Pray. Choose some gospel music, something new or your favorite go-to, and worship God. In worship we tell Him how much we love and adore Him, how we need and only want Him, and how awesome and loving He is to us. Then allow Him to lead you to a scripture. For the scripture, listen for a book and chapter, and if He puts a specific verse on your heart, then pay close attention to that verse, but don’t neglect the context around the verse. After reading (or before) sit in silence, quiet your thoughts and listen for the still small voice (1 King 19:11-13).
Lastly, journal what you heard, saw, perceived, or sensed, and pray what you read. This entire book (The Start of Something Glorious) has asked you to “activate” along the way. When God gives you a new scripture, pray/activate it.
Intimacy with God requires three major things:
1) Reading His Word. Read aloud because Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Reading aloud will also help you prepare to pray aloud, because you are reading the Word that you will eventually activate/pray aloud.
2) Seeking His face through quiet time with Him. You can use the prayers in The Start of Something Glorious and examples of thanksgiving to get you started, but this should be completely personal. No one else can love on God and talk with Him the way you do because you are fearfully, wonderfully, and uniquely made. He made you to chat with Him a certain way and He longs to hear YOUR voice. As Dr. G.L. Fashaw says, God gave you unique fingerprints to touch Him in way that no other person can.
3) Surrounding yourself with the Good News. Attend church because, as the Bible says, we are to fellowship with believers. That’s even easier now that church is online. Change the music you listen to. Dance and act silly with God just as you would a friend because he is your closest friend (John 15:15), and even start to explore online sermons in the place of Netflix and Chill. The Bible is the most dramatic reality show ever, and to hear some ministers talk about it is beyond the entertainment TV provides.
Time to Activate
Make a plan and a covenant with God about how you will make time to be with Him. Live by the covenant you create until God releases you.
I hope y'all have enjoyed this excerpt from The Start of Something Glorious 21-day devotional... written by yours truly :D - get your copy today (from the author or from Amazon)!
<3
Shekinah A. Fashaw
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