Stewardship 101: Spend Time with God
Introduction: Paul Hopes to Spend Time in Corinth
1 Corinthians 16:7 NIV: "For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits."
In this verse, Paul the Apostle addresses the Corinthian church, expressing his desire to visit and spend quality time with them. He emphasizes that he doesn't want to make a brief visit; such a hurried encounter would not allow for deep, meaningful conversations or genuine fellowship.
God gave me a fresh revelation regarding this verse.
This message was not only for the Corinthian church but also for you.
God wants to spend quality time with you.
As confirmation that this isn't a far-fetched interpretation, God further highlighted 1 Corinthians 4:14-15, where Paul refers to the Corinthian church members as his "sons" (iykyk: Paul is considered the "spiritual father" of the Corinthian church members).
So, Paul's remark to the church about quality time reflects the character of our Father in heaven, who also wants to spend time with us.
We Cannot "Make" Time
Of 24 hours in a day, how much time do you devote to God?
God knows and understands that we have many competing responsibilities throughout the day. But doesn't pursuing all those things and putting God last sound... I don't know, backwards?
That's because it is. Matthew 6:33 KJV: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
God is the source of the energy and strength you need to accomplish daily tasks. His wings offer the shelter to keep you safe from attacks against your mind, body, and spirit. For this reason, you must set aside time for God so He can fill you with everything you need for your journey.
Many of us already know how crucial it is to spend intimate time with God. Why, then, does it often get put on the back burner?
It's because we have a habit of convincing ourselves that we can make time, saying, "I'll make time for that later."
Nobody can "make" time. Our time on this earth was given to us only by God himself. Therefore, we can only manage the time He's provided us. We can spend it.
When you think of time this way - as a finite resource that needs to be divided wisely - you can begin spending it carefully and intentionally. You can acknowledge that you have mishandled time and start to get curious about how you can become a better steward of it.
How to Manage Time for God
I like to approach this as if I'm making a budget. Make a list of what a typical weekday looks like for you.
An example list could look something like this:
Making this list helps you visualize how you allocate your 24 hours. Your list may look quite different from our example, and that's okay!
Next, I want you to review and highlight the non-negotiables in your schedule (the current tasks you do not have the flexibility to modify). Our example highlighted list looks like this:
We have a lot of unhighlighted tasks on our list! Each of these unhighlighted tasks is something we can now change to better use our time!
Now, let's make a change. In our example, we wake up at 7:30 am. But Proverbs 31:15 NLT says, "She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her servant girls."
This verse gives us a good idea of what time we should actually wake up: before sunrise.
Well then, how much longer before sunrise? The verse describes how the woman has time to make breakfast for the household and to make plans for the day. That could be an hour or two.
That said, we'll now wake up at 5 am instead of 7:30 am. Our new schedule looks like this:
Look, our first change! We now have two extra hours available to spend with God.
Note that making changes to your schedule may not always be easy. The change in our example list requires us to sacrifice two hours of sleep. If you genuinely want to make this change, ask God for the discipline necessary to uphold your new schedule.
Also, it's okay if you mess up or don't get it right 100% of the time. God doesn't require that we do everything perfectly. He just wants us to make the effort, and then the Holy Spirit inside us will do the rest.
Continue going through your list and finding things that you can change. Be honest with yourself about what you're not ready to change yet (like perhaps in our example, I would go back through and highlight "Stopping at Starbucks for morning latte" as a non-negotiable. Not ready to give up my morning Starbies just yet!)
Once you've finished your list, we can start the fun part and look at what activities we can do during our time with God.
Activities You Can Do with God
This "time with God" we're discussing in this article does not refer to small and fleeting moments. It's deep, intimate blocks of time. The goal of this intimate time is to silence the noise of the world and to hear your Father speaking.
So, what activities can you do?
Journaling 📝
Grab a notebook and a pen. I like to write the date and time at the top of my sheet in case I want to return to the entry. And then I write to God. Journaling is an activity where you can pour everything out of you. Any thoughts in your mind - things you're worried about or excited about - whatever it is, you can get it out on the page. As you begin to do this regularly, you'll notice that God starts to speak to you and give you revelation as you write. Then, you excitedly write down the words God is speaking to you. It's a beautiful form of communication with our Father, so if you haven't tried this, I recommend making this a new habit. You can also set the mood by listening to gentle prayer and worship instrumentals. @onethingsounds on YouTube has a great selection of instrumentals that I enjoy.
Go for a Walk 🥾
Aside from its many health benefits, walking gives you time to hear from the Lord. It also hits differently than being in the house because you're immersing yourself outside in the nature that God made. It's a refresh for your spirit. In the same category, and if you want to take it up a notch, hikes are also a great way to spend time with God. Hikes are usually a bit more challenging than a simple stroll through your neighborhood; however, what I've found is that when I'm doing a steep climb up a hiking trail - legs burning, water bottle near empty - those moments are when God reveals to me the most strategy and wisdom on how to navigate obstacles in life. Those are the moments where God says, "HEY! Remember that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.". Those are the moments when He increases endurance. So yeah, walks and hikes are fantastic.
Build a Fort 🏰
Pull out the blankets and the pillows, and build yurrself a fort! (I'm exaggerating a bit. Unless your inner child really wants a fort, by all means, go for it!). But what I'm saying here is that you should set up a cozy space somewhere in your house or even in your car. This space should be a “fortified” spot, away from distractions, to protect this intimate time with God. Have that journal by your side in case you need to take any notes. Set up a couple of light snacks like grapes, a charcuterie board, or whatever you like. You can queue the prayer and worship music again if it's non-distracting. Then, dive into your bible.
Study Bibles: These bibles offer insights and perspectives into the meaning of different passages. God can show us many messages through a single verse, so there's no one correct interpretation. But Study Bibles help get you thinking and the juices flowing so you can start grasping a bit more understanding from what you're reading.
Devotionals: As Google AI defines it, a devotional is "a piece of religious writing, usually short and focused on a specific scripture passage, designed to encourage personal reflection, prayer, and spiritual growth by providing a meditation point or reflection on a particular theme related to faith." You can find devotional books or study plans that contain daily devotionals that help you keep your spirit regularly fed. An example of a devotional book is At the Table with Jesus by Louie Giglio. If you prefer digital reading, the YouVersion Bible app has many devotional plans you can choose from for free!
Aside from these few activities I've listed, there are the tried-and-true acts of prayer and worship. Use the time you now have to go into deep prayer for yourself or even intercede for others. Raise your hands to the heavens and praise while listening to your favorite gospel songs. Go beneath the surface and truly enjoy this time with Jesus.
A Fresh Anointing
As you spend this time with God consistently, He will see that He can trust you to steward your time wisely.
Luke 16:10 NIV: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
When He can trust you, God will start pouring a fresh anointing over your life and revealing new assignments and projects that require your specific gifts and talents. Instead of only having you allocate your time to indulge in His word, He'll instruct you to serve His living word unto others. That's another reason it's so crucial that you form this habit of spending more time with God—because your life has a purpose. God created you to complete an assignment. But much like a student needs to receive instruction from a teacher before doing an assignment, you, too, need guidance from the Lord before you can fulfill the calling He placed on your life.
Jesus Has Feelings, Too
Above all, God led me to write this article because He loves you.
He meticulously crafted you and made plans for your life long before you were formed in the womb.
You are His prized possession. You are His partner, His friend, & His child. Just as you crave time and attention from the people you love, God also wants your time and attention. God loves the sound of your voice when you tell Him about your day and ramble on about whatever is on your mind. And He is overjoyed when you set aside time to give Him a listening ear and hear what He has to say. This life with God is a relationship, and the truth is that until we learn what proper love looks like through God, we won't be able to sustain any pure human relationships here on earth.
The Knocking 🚪
Jesus is knocking at your door. He says, "My child, won't it be good for you to spend time with me?" He misses you. He's holding a handful of wisdom to share with you and a box of tissues for any tears you need to cry. He doesn't care how long you've been distant. All that matters is that you're here now. Maybe the knocking was too quiet before, but now, in this moment, you can hear it clear as day. So, I encourage you, my dear brother or sister, to open the door and spend time with Jesus today.
Closing Prayer
I thank you, Lord, for the reader on the other side of the screen. I pray you give them the wisdom and strength they need to get through their days. Father, I ask that you cover them when they exit and enter their homes. Cover them and their families with a shield of protection. Allow the reader to hear your gentle whisper more clearly. We thank you for gifting us another day and putting your breath into our lungs. We bring glory to your name, Father, and lift your name on high. Our banner, our righteousness, our peace, you are our everything. Thank you for loving us like no other. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen 🙏🏽
With Gratitude,
Salimah