How many times have you sat in church and the pastor says that we need to press into God? That we need to build a relationship with him? But in my experience they never really tell you HOW.
I can remember many services such as this, and all I could think was, "yeah I know that, but I have no idea how to do it!"
It really is easier said done. It takes a lot of effort at the start on our part. And it is so easy to get distracted. There are so many things going on in our busy lives that random thoughts will always pop into our heads and distract us from the time we should be spending with God.
So here are some practical things that have worked for me. They may not work for you, but it is at least a good starting off point to figure out what works best for you.
In the beginning I found that marking time out in my diary for "God time" really worked, I put it in there just like I would schedule a coffee date with a friend.
When the time comes for me to spend some time with God this is generally how it goes:
1. Worship music (see this post for some ideas) - This will set the atmosphere for your time with God. Where there is atmosphere, God will show up.
2. Active worship - sing along! it gets your heart in the right place and worship quite easily translates into prayer time.
3. Prayer - Sometimes we don't know what to pray, and sometimes we have a lot to pray for. I personally start with praying in tongues. It's ok if you don't do this, it doesn't mean that you aren't a Christian. Many denominations do not promote speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is just ONE way the Holy Spirit manifests itself through us. I find that speaking in tongues is especially good when I don't know what to pray, or if I am feeling so overwhelmed by a situation that I just can't verbalise it. I always keep my worship music going through this in order to maintain the atmosphere.
4. Read - there are heaps of publications out there that will help you to read your bible. A Word for Today is a fantastic collection of devotionals or there is the One Year Bible, that funnily enough lets you read the entire bible in one year. Personally I like to read one Psalm, one chapter of Proverbs and a chapter of the New Testament (just start at Matthew and work your way through).
5. Write - God will usually make a particular verse or chapter stick out to you. Underline it (it's ok to write in your bible), or write it down in a journal. But don't just leave it there, write couple of sentences afterwards so that when you look back you know why it touched your heart in the first place. It doesn't have to be a deep theological revelation, it could just be "This made me feel some comfort today because I'm feeling a bit low." or "This reminded me of God's love".
6. Be Thankful - even in our darkest days there is always something we can be thankful for. Write it down. It could be a beautiful sunset, or maybe someone called with some encouragement or even shouted you a coffee. All of these are little reminders to us that even when times are tough God cares about us.
This is what works for me. Like I said, it could be a good starting off point for you. Sometimes I will throw in a book written by a man or woman of God depending on how much time I have. I recommend "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson if you need some encouragement. It's fantastic, I have read it many times. It's very easy to read, it's written like a story a modern day parable, but it really touches your heart.
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