Interactive Time With God

By Published On: December 8, 2016Categories: Blog0 Comments on Interactive Time With God

Many people have heard of a “quiet time” with God. I prefer an Interactive Time With God!

For years, I struggled to sit quietly with my bible, trying to tune out the distractions. Believe me, there were lots of distractions.

*Maybe I should call my friend who just got out of the hospital.

*I wonder what we’re having for dinner tonight.

*It’s freezing today!

*I hope I get everything done today!

When the thoughts came, I felt guilty. Why can’t I tune this out? Other people have learned to control their brains, but I just can’t do it.  

Finally, I quit trying to quiet my mind. I told God that He created me and He’d have to figure out how to speak to me in ways I could understand. Guess what? He did!!!

Now, when I begin my interactive time with God at 9:00 (because I’ve never been a morning person, and I got over the guilt of not waking up before dawn to sit happily with my bible), I bring along my journal, phone, and a notepad. I read a devotional and look in my bible for any scripture references. If anything hits me from the reading, I write about it. If not, I move on! I don’t sit there waiting and frustrated because nothing hit me, and God must be ignoring me, and he doesn’t care about me. I realize that God speaks when God wants to speak, and it’s OK.

I begin by saying Good Morning Lord. Sometimes he says it back. I thank him for whatever is good in my life, my new home, my health, my children, the beautiful view. As I write about my concerns, I sometimes think of someone. Instead of beating myself up  because I lost my train of thought, I go with it. What if God brought that person to my mind! When I think of them, I’ll ask what He wants me to do about it. Sometimes I feel like I should text them, so I do it. I don’t wait until later. I just do it!! God doesn’t seem to mind that I’m texting my friends or family members during my time with Him. In fact, I think He likes it!

I ask Him about all the parts of my day. I pray for the clients I’ll be coaching, the blogs I’ll be writing, or whatever else I need to do for my work. I ask him about dinner, and many times a meal suggestion will pop into my head. God reminds me to exercise (but He’s not a nag), and tells me to take a nap if I haven’t slept well. He suggests ideas for blog posts. In fact, this post came from my time with God today. I texted someone in the middle, and then wrote in my journal, “I love our interactive time together.” I felt Him say, “Tell other people about it!” I said, “Blog?” “Yep” came His reply.

My Interactive Time With God has changed my life. I don’t have to worry about what I’m going to do each day, what’s for dinner, who I should call or text, or the direction of my life and work. We chat about it each day (almost). I can relax when I’m finished with the things we talked about. I know I’ve done all I needed to do each day. I’ll talk to Him throughout the day, and know I’ll have more Interactive Time With God tomorrow.

My prayer in writing this blog is that someone who has guilt over not having quiet time, not doing it at the right time, not doing it the right way, not hearing God like others, not being good enough, etc. might be able to take a deep breath, relax, and begin to let go of the pressure they feel. I pray that you would be able to put this responsibility back on God’s big, broad shoulders, and let Him guide you. Tell Him you’re tired. Tell Him you’re scared and lonely and you don’t know what to do. Ask Him to fill your heart with His love for you, until you stop doubting.

I pray that you would experience freedom from guilt and shame, and that God’s love would permeate your whole being.

We’d love to help you through the tough times in your life through coaching, groups, our book, speaking, retreats, videos, short films, and documentary.

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