Why Spend Time with God?

Why Spend Time with God?

(in His Word)

Break down your typical day.

For many people, there are (somewhat) standard hours in which we eat, sleep, and work/study. Let's say that takes around 18 hours. What do you do in the remaining 6? Some may turn to family and friends. Others, perhaps entertainment. Yet, if I may ask this, how much time is saved for the Lord—the one whom we claim to love? Out of the 24 hours we have each day, how much undivided time belongs to “the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them” (Ps 146:6)? If we call ourselves people who love God, in which to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21)—symbolizing that our lives’ purpose is to be like Christ, who regularly spent time with the Father (Matt 14:13; Mk 1:35; Mk 6:45-46; Lk 4:42 etc.)—then we should likewise enjoy being in the presence of El Shaddai. Yet, is that truly the case for you? Do you really yearn to draw near to Him so that He may draw near to you, as it is written in James 4:8?

(I am not a fan of putting stories in my blog but here’s one)

I once confronted a friend who wanted to be in ministry about why he didn’t spend time with God. His answer was: “If God is omniscient (knows everything) and omnipresent (is everywhere), I am spending time with Him all the time.” This is a real story. I don’t know how much this friend believed in what he said, but consider this: let’s say you’re married; and your spouse is with you 24/7. Yet, even though he/she is with you all the time, you make no effort in communing, talking, or spending time with him/her. Would your spouse feel loved or feel like he/she is in a relationship with you? By no means! (which was the strongest Greek phrase to indicate refusal!)

Hence, if we claim to be God’s bride and yet make no effort in spending time with the One whom we claim to love, are we truly in love and relationship with Him? This is a serious question to consider. With that mentioned, the following will present 4 points to why spending time with God is vital in the Christian life, followed by applications.

#1: Basic Indicator of a relationship with God

It is totally plausible that one who spends regular time with God in prayer and in His Word could do so out of religion, legalism, tradition, or an insincere heart and motive (or all the above). Yet, one who does not, or makes no attempt, in doing so will certainly not be in a good, healthy, loving, sustainable, relationship with God. No way.

Jesus—the one whom we are called to imitate (Rom 13:14)—spent tons of alone time with the Father (Matt 14:13; Mk 1:35; Mk 6:45-46; Lk 4:42 etc.); and He was God! If we are not God and bound with a nature that is “under sin” (Rom 3:9), how can we not draw near to Him?

The opening Psalm in Psalms begins with, “Blessed is the man…who’s delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps 1:1-2). The “law”, back in the context of the psalmist, was the Word of God! Psalm 1 is about the contrast between the way of the righteous—those in the Lord—and the wicked, those who are not. And that contrast is firstly based on whether one dwells in His Word. In fact, Psalm 1 ends with “the Lord knows the way of the righteous” (1:6; cf. Ps 11:7; 33:5; 146:8; etc.), symbolizing that those who are righteous are those who have a relationship with God, as He personally knows those who love Him (1 Cor 8:3).

Thus, a basic relationship with God has to revolve around spending time with the One whom we call the “lover of our souls”. Oh, and by the way, if one doesn’t spend time with God, that person should not even bother making claims about how “God told me this…” How does one who does not know God personally know that God has personally spoken to him/her? (in most cases)

#2: Enables one to love and obey God

Christ says in John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” He then says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (14:23). The greatest commandment is to love the Lord with everything (Matt 22:37). Hence, to love God is to obey His Word in everything. Yet, how can one love and obey God if one does not even know what is written in God’s Word?

Therefore, if being a Christian is to be in love with God and to live a life “worthy of the calling” (Eph 4:1), the only way one can do so is by spending time with God.

#3: Enables one to experience God personally

The ways of God are oftentimes opposite from the ways of the world. The way of the world usually suggests us to have faith (to believe) after evidence, witness, or experience. The way of God oftentimes suggest that experiences come after faith.

Many Christians are craving for a touch of God that will set them on fire as His witnesses to the ends of the earth. I believe that this can be the case. However, prescriptive verses usually tell us to “draw near to God” first, which is to make the effort in faith to know God, then “He will draw near to us” (Jas 4:8; 2 Chron 15:2; 28:9; Zech 1:3; Mal 3:7 etc.). The truth is, if you are in love with someone, you will initiate your love. If you are wholehearted grateful for something someone has done, you will initiate to be grateful. In the same way, if you believe God is real, and you want to experience Him powerfully in your life, (you will) draw near to Him.

Scripture writes that we are to set our minds on the things of the Spirit (Rom 8:5-7), things that are true, honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise (Phil 4:8), then “the God of peace will be with you” (Phil 4:9 cf. Rom 8:6; Gal 6:16). To experience God’s peace and security, one must live in the Spirit, which first requires knowing God in His Word in obedience. Thus, if you want to experience God, you have to make the effort in faith to spend time with Him.

#4: Enables one to be Spiritually Mature

Paul wants every Christian to be mature in Christ (Col 1:28). He writes that “Let those…who are mature think this way”, which is to press on towards the goal in Christ (Phil 3:14-15). A spiritually mature Christian wants to grow and press on as a believer and testimony—an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor 5:20)—so that God may be glorified in one’s life!

Yet, in order to be spiritually mature, one must be skilled in the word of righteousness—which is the Word of God (Heb 6:12-13). Colossians 3:16 writes: “Let the Word of God dwell in you richly”, thus enabling one to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom! Oftentimes the mature are correlated with those who are wise. Hence, in order to be wise and mature, one must dwell in the Word of God, which is not a bunch of “empty words”, but “your very life” (Deut 32:47).

Conclusion & Application:

At the end of the day, God is the good Father who desires the best for us. He wants us to live a victorious, Spirit-filled life in a deep relational intimacy with Himself. He has given us what we need to achieve that—the Word of God. Thus, my prayer as I write this is that you may live in a good relationship with God through a lifestyle that yearns for God, every single day, before desiring anything else.

A good way to do this is to set practical rules and regulations in your life. This is because our flesh naturally does not want to spend time with God in His word, and in order to combat that, sometimes we need rules. Perhaps make it a rule of “no social media until after having quality time with God.” A missionary family had this policy of “no eating” unless one has “eaten from the daily bread”—the Word of God. For some, perhaps the rule should be, “no entertainment”, whether that be gaming (of any sort), tv shows, sport, music, shopping…unless one has let the Word dwell in oneself (this is currently my rule).

And don't set unachievable goals. Start with baby steps. Perhaps start with the practice of spending 30 minutes (out of 24 hours, which is 1/48 of your day), or reading 2-3 chapters alongside prayer and worship. For some others, raise the bar a bit, such as reading the Bible once, or twice, three, or seven times a year. You can also be creative about it, such as with memorization or listening to Scripture (like 99.9% of those in biblical history). You are also encouraged to spend time with God through fasting! Whatever the case, let us ultimately put God and our relationship with Him first in our lives by doing it (Jas 1:22).

-Barnabas Kwok

Biblical and Theological Studies Student at BIOLA University