If you have made any attempt at a regular, meaningful quiet time with the LORD, you’ve struggled – at least at times.
Can we honestly admit that?
Any relationship takes time and effort, and none of them happen naturally or easily. The same is true of your relationship with the LORD.
It IS a relationship… you know that, don’t you?
Your daily time with the LORD is not…
- a religious act
- a ritual
- a obligation
It’s a relationship that needs care and intentional attention.
The #1 quiet time habit that most Christians miss is…
STARTING WITH A PRAYER OF HUMBLE DEPENDENCE
Sounds too simple, but hear me out.
This bold statement is built entirely on a few scriptural truths… promises given to you by God, who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18).
1. God Himself, is eager to have a genuine relationship with you. He’s proved it through the gift of His Son, Jesus. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8)
2. He has promised that if you ask for anything He wants, He will give it. (1 John 5:14-15)
So, if God wants a relationship with you even more than you do (#1), and if He has promised to give you the things He wants when you ask Him for them (#2), then it makes perfect, divine, powerful sense that the most important thing you can do to establish a consistent and meaningful time with the LORD is to ask Him for it each day as you begin seeking Him.
- Plead
- Beg
- Ask
- Seek
- Knock
- Pursue
- Beseech (there’s a King James word for you)
And don’t do it in a “wishful” sort of way (I sure wish this would happen…) but with CONFIDENCE!
God Himself has made promises that you can count on!
What does this have to do with the Christian Home and Family?
My focus in this website, podcast, and all related activities is to help you make Christ the center of your home, so that you can build a legacy of faith in your family for generations to come.
That
will
not
happen
if you are not first experiencing a genuinely vibrant relationship with the LORD.
Your marriage will not thrive as it should, if you are not walking with the LORD honestly and daily.
Your kids will not catch that kind of faith or listen to you talk about it, if they don’t see evidence of it being real in your life first.
You’ve got to believe that, because it’s true.
This post is an effort to spur you on, to equip you, to prompt you toward a greater sense of urgency about the importance of your relationship with the LORD.
Take this quiet time habit of heartfelt prayer and add to it your own good works, because
faith without works is dead (James 2:17).
Ask God to meet you each day.
Express your desperation for His presence and guidance.
Plead with Him to reveal Himself and His ways to you personally and powerfully.
Then engage in your pursuit of Him as if He’s going to answer you… because He is.
CALL TO ACTION:
DO something about it…
- Make a note to remind yourself to start off each day’s pursuit of God with a heartfelt prayer of dependence.
- Then engage in your pursuit of Him with all you are.
What will YOU do to ramp up your time with the LORD? Share your commitment below…
by 
Amen! You’ve got that right! This has *everything* to do with having a Christ-centered home. And I like your idea of starting our time together in the morning by asking God to bless our relationship.
One thing that I have found really helps me is to talk out loud to God. Somehow it all seems more real and more powerful that way. We would talk aloud to any other friend, why not our best friend? I know that can be hard with a houseful, but I try to whenever feasible, even if it is only a whisper.
@Sheila Edeliant My oldest daughter often does exactly what you’ve found to be helpful. We’ll often see her outside walking around… talking – and we know she’s praying and our hearts are stirred. She said the other day that she likes where she works because she’s the only one there (in between customers) and that she carries on “out loud” conversations with the LORD all day long. Fun stuff… and good stuff. Thanks for the contribution!
I absolutely LOVE this post. Yes – dependence on God in all things. When we’re in right relationship with God, we’re in right relationship with others. Vibrant relationship with God . . . vibrant relationship with spouse and family. Our relationship with God is the greatest “teaching tool” to nurture faith in our children. Well said.
Lisa B – your comments are always so passionate for Him… I love it!Your point about right relationship with God trickling into all others is powerful – POWERFUL. I’m going to write that down so I can ponder it a bit more… thanks for sharing!
Many times I’ve beat myself up because I couldn’t muscle my way through my quiet times the way I wanted. Then I realized that even my attitude was something I needed to be dependent on him for. I started to pray that I would learn to pray! And that’s made a very real difference in my life.
Loren Pinilis – yep.. ditto here. Muscle is not needed, humility is. I’ve had to learn that lesson far too many times in my life… but am glad for every lesson. My dependence on Him is so vital, and I keep forgetting it.