“Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:36-37)
The television is on, Facebook beckons, housework calls, and to-do lists formulate – all while I’m trying to pray and talk to God! These days, it’s not hard to fill our schedules to the brim.
As a result, there can be many distractions that get in the way of our time with God. And when God is left at the bottom of our cup we don’t always have the energy to focus on our relationship with Him. Prioritizing our daily activities is a must if we want God to be the center of our lives. This is even more crucial for those of us who are chronically ill, as we never know how much “good time” we will have.
What do we do if we’ve already lost sight of God? There are of course some very practical steps – limit television, video games, phone talking (or texting), and pleasure-reading until AFTER you’ve spent time with God.
One friend says she will not eat breakfast until she’s spent time in prayer and Bible study. Another friend sits by the fireplace and enjoys a cup of coffee with her “best friend.” I like to spend time with God when I first get home, before I eat dinner. There are many ways we can rearrange our schedules if we want to put God first.
As you pray, ask God to show you what you can change or give up, in order to make time for Him. Once you begin meeting with Him regularly, you’ll want to have that fellowship time because you’ll see God working in your life more. How exciting is that??
And probably one of the most important things we can do is to memorize Scripture. If we have God’s Word in our hearts we can meditate on His statues, even if we don’t physically have time to set aside with God. Wherever God’s Word is, He speaks!
So be challenged today, to make God a priority in your life. He wants to fellowship with you and speak to you in a personal way!
About the Author
Bridget Gazlay resides in the beautiful West Michigan. She struggles with Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, IBS, arthritis and migraines. She works full time but writes and designs fabric cards as she is able. Bridget’s prayer is for readers who come across her writing or fabric cards to see that she allows, “God’s creation to be my inspiration.” You can reach Bridget at: quiltforhim@yahoo.com or www.pfccreations.com. Make sure to check out her new blog: www.pfccreations.com/blog .
This is such a vital subject Bridget!! Why is it that most of us make the time to have three meals a day, with all that entails, to feed our bodies but don’t seem to make food for our souls a high priority?!
Thank you so much for sending this devotional in for us!!
This devotion so sums up this season in my life of casting aside all the multi tasking and returning to the Lord. I had over time allowed entertainment to become more of a companion to me than the Lord.
I lost my ability to focus on tasks and carry them to completion. My writing ministry dried up, and I lacked any momentum to change.
Finally in desperation I started working the 12 steps about my powerlessness to change my behavior and the Lord stepped in and got me back on the right track one day at a time.
Thank you for writing this devotional. its keeper. Blessings, Ellen