A Story. When I was a seminarian, I sat before a group of lay persons and we discussed God's calling on my life. My bishop had told all the seminarians that we were now "under orders", meaning that several things were no longer optional, including daily Morning and Evening Prayer. I confessed to my group that I just couldn't do it. There was no time. The expectations were too high, too unreasonable given all the other things I was expected to do. I've never forgotten what the Sr. Warden said to me, in part because it ticked me off. He said, "If it's important to you, you'll do it."Well! Imagine the nerve! He was implying that making time for God was just not as important to me as other things! And he was right. Oh, I thought prayer and worship and spirituality were important, but I hadn't made them as important as other things in my life. There is a reason why God linked sacrifice with forming a bond and connection with the Divine. We may not be offering sheep and bulls anymore, but finding time with God today still requires a sacrifice. We must lay our schedules, priorities, desires, needs, and wants on the altar.
"So how about some concrete steps?" Sure. Here are some suggestions, but be aware that like all relationships, your relationship with God is dynamic. There's no simple and guaranteed method. Most of it boils down to just figuring out what works for you. And that is part of the challenge and part of the adventure. Below are four concrete steps to help you and God figure it out together.
1) Develop your perspective. Write down why you think God wants to spend time with you and why you would want to spend time with God. What are the benefits? Why do you want this to be important? Can you connect a positive relationship with God to the benefit of other priorities? An example on my benefits list is, "I will be a better dad if I nurture my relationship with God." Rehearse the this list by posting it and reading it frequently throughout your week. Pray about it, tell God who you are and who you want to be.2) Start small. Consistency is more important than length or content at first. Think of it as God wanting to check in with you every day, even if its just the length of a text message with less than 160 characters. A verse and a small prayer is sufficient to start. With consistent practice, you will begin to find that "short" is not long enough.
3) Remove barriers. As you encounter barriers, write them down. Then make it your goal to remove items from the list or otherwise diminish their effectiveness. For instance, next to "I keep forgetting" put "Make appointment times for God in my schedule." Don't forget to pray about them, too. "God, when I forget you, don't forget me. Call me back to you."
4) Talk about it. Our spiritual lives are personal, but not private. We are not called to hide our relationship with God, but to share with others God's activity in our lives (see Psalm 40:11). In doing so we find we aren't alone in our struggles or in experiencing God's miraculous activity. So ask what others do and what they've experienced. Ask for prayer and offer to pray for others.
Let's check in with God and let's check in with each other. It's all just part of being the Family of God.
