Time with God - Part 1

Mark 1:29
“That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases…Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Jesus Himself showed that no matter how busy He was or how late He had worked the previous night, time with the Father is the most important part of our day.

I have never been great at fasting but recently I decided to fast for three days; from sunrise to sunset and drinking only water. Interestingly enough, I didn’t receive any special wisdom, knowledge or spiritual revelation. But what I did realise was how utterly useless I am if I don’t eat. The first day was not too bad, because I had made sure I ate well the day before, but by the time I got to day 2 and 3 I was struggling. I battled to perform at anywhere close to my optimum while exercising and even small everyday tasks required a monumental effort. But the area where I suffered most was in my relationships – I just did not have the energy to make an effort to love people, to be kind and to make conversation. I quickly became irritable and just wanted to be left alone.
I thought to myself if not eating food had such a big impact on my life, especially my relationships, how much more do I suffer when I don’t receive my spiritual food? I would never think of missing breakfast, whether it’s a bland piece of toast or a delectable English breakfast, and if I did I would have a big brunch or lunch. To go a whole day voluntarily without eating is just too crippling.

Now we need to see that if we are not getting our spiritual food, we are even more incapable of functioning in the loving way God wants us to than if we just skip a day of meals.

The problem is that we get used to being spiritually hungry and therefore don’t know what it feels like to be full. So we just stay hungry. The only way to be filled is to be in constant communion with God. And constant communion starts with a daily quiet time. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that by going to church on a Sunday and cell group on Wednesday that that is enough of God for the week. You wouldn’t choose to eat a meal only on Sundays and Wednesdays, so why do it with your spiritual food?

Take time to spend time with God every single day – pray, chat to Him; listen to music, read your Bible or another Christian book. Do it for an extended period of time and really see how your view on your life begins to change, and how your relationship with Him grows.

Be blessed, make music, live with passion
NS