{"id":385,"date":"2014-11-28T03:40:09","date_gmt":"2014-11-28T03:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/?p=385"},"modified":"2014-11-28T03:40:09","modified_gmt":"2014-11-28T03:40:09","slug":"spending-time-with-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/?p=385","title":{"rendered":"Spending time with God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"10431096_10153049901739768_4979359216894063926_o\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Is time with God something that comes naturally, or something that you often forget about?\u00a0 I know for me sometimes it\u2019s a struggle, Satan puts so many things in my life that seem important up to the point that the day has gone by, we\u2019ve said grace before meals and prayed before bed\u2026\u00a0 But there was no quality time at all with our Creator!\u00a0 The very One who created us.\u00a0 Think of your little ones and how often they need and want you.\u00a0 Our young children need and want a with us.\u00a0 They were formed in our womb, and come out us and us to be near.\u00a0 If only our relationship with Our Father mirrored that of our young children!\u00a0 Dare I say it, but sometimes our relationship with God might mirror that of a teenager or adult \u00a0\u2013 who doesn\u2019t feel that they need their earthly parents anymore, and might only speak to them every few days (or longer!).\u00a0\u00a0 We have to rekindle that for our Heavenly Father, the only One who provides our needs and many of our wants, who guides us, protects us, keeps us company when want it, blesses us, corrects us, and most importantly us.\u00a0 God created us to have a relationship with us.\u00a0with God<\/p>\n

Is time with God something that comes naturally, or something that you often forget about?\u00a0 I know for me sometimes it\u2019s a struggle, Satan puts so many things in my life that seem important up to the point that the day has gone by, we\u2019ve said grace before meals and prayed before bed\u2026\u00a0 But there was no quality time at all with our Creator!\u00a0 The very One who created us.\u00a0 Think of your little ones and how often they need and want you.\u00a0 Our young children need and want a relationship<\/em> with us.\u00a0 They were formed in our womb, and come out needing<\/em> us and wanting<\/em> us to be near.\u00a0 If only our relationship with Our Father mirrored that of our young children!\u00a0 Dare I say it, but sometimes our relationship with God might mirror that of a teenager or adult \u00a0\u2013 who doesn\u2019t feel that they need their earthly parents anymore, and might only speak to them every few days (or longer!).\u00a0\u00a0 We have to rekindle that need<\/em> for our Heavenly Father, the only One who provides our needs and many of our wants, who guides us, protects us, keeps us company when we<\/em> want it, blesses us, corrects us, and most importantly loves<\/em> us.\u00a0 God created us to have a relationship with us.<\/p>\n

He wants to be the center of our lives, and He should be!\u00a0 He wants us to run to him with all of our questions, fears and concerns (Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”<\/span><\/em>)<\/span>\u00a0. \u00a0When we no longer feel the need for our Lord, we are experiencing spiritual decay!\u00a0 Spiritual decay will lead to feeling separated from God, and more vulnerable to Satan. \u00a01 Peter 5:6-8 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,\u00a0<\/span>casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.\u2026”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t live vicariously though others\u2019 relationships with God.\u00a0 Going to church, listening to sermon podcasts and reading books on spirituality are not enough.\u00a0 We need that time alone with God each and every day.\u00a0\u00a0 The Christian life is a supplied<\/em> life, and a life that is continually transformed.\u00a0 We get that supply from time with God, and transformation can come only from God himself, too.\u00a0 As we dive into the Word, the Holy Spirit will convict us, inspire us, remind us, and enlightens us.\u00a0 Every time we open the bible, God has our life support waiting for us, and the steps to the transformation into the vessel He created us to be are outlined.\u00a0 But we can only get that when we spend time in the Word and prayer.<\/p>\n

The more we spend time with something or someone, the more we often begin to transform into the image of that something or someone.\u00a0 if you spend most of your time watching tv, chances are pretty good that the way you act, dress, and live will reflect that of what you watch.\u00a0 We should be reflecting the light and love of Jesus Christ Himself, studying him and transforming ourselves to be just like Jesus.\u00a0 The time we spend doing things should be spent also with Jesus.\u00a0 In addition to time alone with God and His Word, we should center our lives on Him.\u00a0 Turn every worry, fear, concern and uncertainty into prayer.\u00a0 Turn every situation into worship.\u00a0 Live with Him at the forefront of everything else.\u00a0 Try as Satan will (and he WILL), make sure the things you spend your time doing are good and pure in God\u2019s sight, and that those are things He would have you do.\u00a0 Pray on it.\u00a0 There are so many things we can do every day to fill our lives up \u2013 but what we need is to fill our lives up with God.\u00a0 If we begin to feel as if something is missing, or you have an unsatisfied feeling \u2013 maybe even a nagging of some sort \u2013 that is likely God himself trying to quiet you and bring you to His attention.\u00a0 Life can get so busy, be sure to include time in your day for the very One that gave you that busy life to live!\u00a0 In addition, remember that our<\/em> desires to be with the Lord are <\/em>God himself!\u00a0 It is not just your own thought, it is God giving you that feeling!\u00a0 When you obey that desire to spend time with God, you are obeying God himself.<\/p>\n

Had a rough day?\u00a0 Pray.\u00a0 Open your bible.\u00a0 Quiet yourself<\/em> and open your mind to hear God.\u00a0 It is so easy for Satan to fill our minds at that point and create so much drama, and feelings of \u2018having to\u2019 do this or that, that we may forget<\/em> to call on God!\u00a0 Our strength to make it through a rough day will come from God.\u00a0 He will supply all of our needs \u2013 remember,\u00a0 the Christian life is a supplied life.\u00a0 Supplied through God himself.\u00a0 But you have to meet with God to get that supply \u2013 yourself.\u00a0 After a rough day, spending time in the Word will leave you refreshed and inspired.<\/p>\n

The first step to spending time with God Is to simply do it.\u00a0 <\/em>That is the hardest part.\u00a0 Start with prayer, asking God to soften your heart and open your mind to the things He wants you to know.\u00a0 Ask him to guide you, and talk to him about whatever is on your mind.\u00a0 Be patient, and wait.\u00a0 Open your bible, and just read.\u00a0 When a particular verse stands out to you, stop.\u00a0 Read it again, think about it.\u00a0 This is God.\u00a0 Write it down, read it again.\u00a0 Ask God to show you the full meaning of the verse.\u00a0 How can you apply it to your life?\u00a0 What about to a situation you are currently in \u2013 is it an answer to prayer?<\/p>\n

When you spend time with God, have a few things handy.\u00a0 Either in a basket, on a shelf, or otherwise accessible.\u00a0 A notepad, your bible, a pen, and perhaps a bible dictionary to help you understand scripture a bit better.\u00a0 Many moms find it easiest to find their quiet time with God early in the morning or right before bed when the rest of the house is still asleep.\u00a0\u00a0 Write down scripture that has meaning to you and any notes you want to write down.\u00a0 Spend time in worship, prayer and scripture.\u00a0 There is no time limit \u2013 a few minutes is better than none.<\/p>\n

As you start spending more time with God, you will be tempted to forgo it \u2018just this once\u2019 to do something that might seem more exciting, or seemingly more important.\u00a0 Be careful, as \u2018just this once\u2019 can quickly turn into a habit.\u00a0 Satan is excellent at deceiving and making you believe something is more important than God.\u00a0 Stick to your plan of spending time with God and building that relationship with Him.\u00a0 The more you do it, the more you come to depend on it, and the more important it becomes in your daily life\u00a0\u00a0 You will notice a difference in your days.\u00a0 You will become more filled with joy, you will be able to handle daily stresses easier, you will\u00a0 be able\u00a0 fight against Satan easier. To simply know God is with you yesterday, today at this very moment, and very moment forevermore, and have a deeper relationship with Him because of the time you\u2019ve spent with Him, will make you feel like a whole new person.<\/p>\n

Remember that fire you felt when you first became saved \u2013 that unquenchable thirst you had for the Lord?\u00a0 Yes, well, that comes back when you start spending more time with him.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve never felt a lack of that fire and that desire for more of God, you are very blessed and disciplined\u00a0 to maintain such a great relationship with him.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t yet accepted the Lord as your savior and have never experienced such a strong feeling \u2013 what are you waiting for?\u00a0 If you\u2019re like me, and have moments of your life where you let your guard down and Satan gets in the way with so many things to do and think about, and your time with God gets less and less, and you start to feel that nagging feeling that something is missing\u2026\u00a0 Remember that something is missing<\/em>.\u00a0 That is God trying to draw you near, away from the busyness of your day and back to Him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Is time with God something that comes naturally, or something that you often forget about? I know for me sometimes it\u2019s a struggle, Satan puts so many things in my life that seem important up to the point that the day has gone by, we\u2019ve said grace before meals and prayed before bed\u2026 But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions\/387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.k7farm.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}