Spending Time with God

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8
Key Verse: Matthew 6:6

We are living in an age where everything is fast-paced. Most of us desire high-speed phone service, internet, and even transportation. It is almost rare for us to slow down and just take time for things we enjoy or things that are important. One of those important things is spending time with God. As Christians, we need to devote time to talk and listen to God so that we can strengthen our relationship with Him. These few verses in Matthew 6 talk about the importance of a private prayer life. While the contents of a well-rounded prayer will be covered in a later series, this devotion is to help you to understand the importance of private time with God.

 
One of the first things God cautions us not to do in this passage is to pray just to be seen (v.5). There are some people who only talk to God when they are in the public eye. They never truly acknowledge His existence on a day to day in their personal lives. However, they find it convenient to put on an act in front of others. God is not shunning those who pray in public, but He is shunning those who don’t pray authentically in public. The only one who should get glory from prayers is God. While it may feel good to have people approve of your prayers, you should redirect the glory to God. Remind those applauding you that it was He who was giving you the words to say aloud at the moment. If you decide to take the credit then you have received your reward. Earthly rewards cannot compare to the blessings God originally had in store for your obedience. 

God wants you to have a private place to pray and commune with Him (v.6). You should set aside time every day to disconnect from the world so that you can connect with God. This looks different for everyone. For me, it can either mean getting up before others in my home or dorm to study God’s word and pray to start my day or isolating myself in the middle of the day to listen to instrumental gospel music and just pray about things that are on my heart. In those moments, I feel like I can be true self and cry out to God in a way that I often don’t feel comfortable doing when others are around. This also helped me to grow in my faith because I didn’t feel like people were judging me for not understanding the Word and I had to truly listen to God for direction. 

Some days in my alone time, I prayed longer than others. It wasn’t to ramble, but I had to give God my all. God lets us know that we don’t have to pray for long periods of time because He isn’t impressed by our words (v.7). He wants us to say what we feel and then move on so that He can respond and act accordingly (v.8). We shouldn’t rush these moments or oversimplify them, but we should pray authentically to give God our all and not just follow what a timer says. God hears all of our prayers equally. He doesn’t put one person’s prayer higher because they quote scripture or use big words. He just wants us to talk to Him. The fact that you initiated a conversation with your Father who has been waiting to hear your voice means so much to Him. You don’t have to worry about making mistakes or not sounding intelligent. You are His child, and He wants to hear from you. Before long, you will realize that He has given you the words to say and those moments will become embedded in your day to day routine. You may be riding alone in your car or walking into your job or classroom and a conversation with Him may begin. Embrace it! He is waiting for you.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me time. Thank you for every single second, minute, and hour of life that you have allowed me to experience. Right now, I want to apologize for not spending time with you. However, I want to thank you for being patient with me. Help me to give you more time. Allow me not to brag about it but give you the glory for my transition. I love you and praise you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.