“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”  Joshua 1:8

Over the years I have not always been consistent to give priority time to God in disciplined reading, prayer, and meditation on the Bible.  Some recent questions from a minister and his behaviour have driven me back to God’s word for some goals/ideas/ways to grow in this discipline.  For whatever they are worth, here are some thoughts that I have put together that may help you during the day.

Simple Goals for Growing in Personal Time with God

1. Avoid legalism (especially about the format, time, location, etc) but be compelled by love to spend more time with God (1 John 4:19) Forget how things are being done and favour what God is doing. Stay in your lane and let the traffic flow freely.
2. Try something and do what works (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Check up on your faith and see what needs to be done. With faith, there must be works (James 2:14-26)
3. Look for idle/idol spent moments (things that waste time, or things that you would rather do than read your Bible or pray) and change how you spend them or don’t do those things until you have spent time with God (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
4. Read, meditate, pray and apply (James 1:22-25 and Psalm 1) Allow God to CHANGE you by going that little step further by meditating and applying what you read.
5. Ask God for hunger, thirst and a willing spirit (James 1:5, Matthew 5:6 and Psalm 51:12)
6. Meditate on God’s love, character and works – this can make you long for more  (Psalm 103, 116, 111, Isaiah 55, if you need a place to start)
7. Ask yourself if you have made a habit of starving yourself so badly by neglecting time with God that you don’t even know what you are missing anymore.  Reverse the pattern and make yourself hungry by reintroducing spiritual food.
8. Seek godly accountability (Proverbs 13:20, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

Spending time with God should be everyone’s heart desire. The time that we spend looking into other people life will be better spent in mediation and prayer seeking directions. As I say if we can only stay in our lane the traffic will flow better and we get to our destination on time.

Take that moment and see where God wants you to go and then set your own goals. I have just given you a little guide to help you along the way. Do it for yourself and see how it works with your faith.