Spending Quality Time with God

Spending Quality Time with God The Importance of Your Daily Worship

Introduction Living in such a fast paced society where obligations only seem to increase, it leaves many of us pressed for time. Yet we juggle and juggle some more all to make this thing called life work. But with so many common distractions in this world, it is all too easy to lose sight of our main duty, which is to fear God and keep His commandments. You see, the Lord wants us to obey and worship Him. Not just on the Sabbath day but each and everyday of our lives. So when we fail to do so, are we making our best effort for God? No, of course not.

Two Way Agreement If we want God to remember us, then we have to remember Him. After all, the promise and covenant He has set forth is a two party agreement, requiring effort not only from the Lord but each individual as well. A key way of upholding your end of the bargain is through daily worship.

Our daily worship helps place the laws of God at the forefront of our minds so that we continue to obey. It also gives us strength, peace, comfort, joy and so much more.

My Story Now why did I decide to write on this? When I first moved back home, I was really stressed out and began forming some very bad habits. I was having worship typically once a day and during the morning. At least I would call it that. Mornings were hard. I could barely wake up so I began staying in bed as long as could. I even started praying while in bed. The lights were out and I was half asleep.

Shameful to say, but I would often fall asleep in the middle of prayer.

Not good!

My Story But as the clock started ticking, I would quickly jump out of bed, rush to get bathed, dressed, prepare my breakfast and do a quick scripture reading. Then off to work I would go and on time I might add. As an occupational therapist, I am on my feet a lot. I lift people, push them in wheelchairs, frequently walk up/ down the hallways and exercise along with my patients. As a result, I can be quite fatigued by the time I get home so a girl’s gotta have some relaxation. My R&R usually consists of watching TV, dancing while listening to music in my room or spending time with my boyfriend. As it draws closer to 8pm, I catch what I like to call the “sleepies.” Energy for worship? Rarely happened.

Instead, I would curl into bed justifying my actions with the fact that I did read the bible in the morning, well kind of.

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My Story Now deep down in my heart, I knew my efforts were not good enough. I was feeling guilty and I had to ask myself, am I doing the very best I can do? The truthful answer was no. In fact, my actions were communicating this to the Lord….”My job, watching TV, listening to secular music, and spending time with Scott, are all more important than worshipping you.” This may seem harsh but it was the reality.

Look in the Mirror I had to look in the mirror and see myself clearly. Anytime you put something or someone above the Lord it becomes an idol to you. Simple is that.

And when you have idols in your life it means you are breaking the very first commandment which says, “Thou shalt have not have no other gods before me.�

Sin No More!

No one in this room wants to be guilty of breaking the commandments. We have enough sins on our record books as is. Instead, we seek out God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness. And our hope is to have a clean record book that has been thoroughly cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Brothers and Sisters, this is our Atonement.

Christ Now Christ is our Father and the best mentor there is. He not only taught the truth, but He led by example, giving us tools and resources that we can use to accomplish our goal, which is to gain eternal life.

Some key tools are the bible, prayer and holy music.

Combine these tools together and you have the perfect worship session.

Worship This we know for the Spirit has shown us how to worship the Lord as evident in our church.

Each sabbath, we sing songs, we pray, we testify and read the scriptures as a collective group, making our worship full and complete. But on our own we should also strive to have a daily worship that includes a song(s), prayer and scripture reading.

This is your one on one time with God or as I like to say, spending quality time with your Maker.

Worship After all, songs, prayer and scripture study as a collective effort, can become a powerful weapon against the wiles of the devil. Each component is so vital to your spiritual health and God commands us to do all three. That is why it is so important to do them everyday. Lets delve into that more.

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Studying the Bible

• “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,” (Psalms 40: 7) • “Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read.” (Isaiah 34:16) • “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” (II Timothy 2:15).

Studying the Bible God has provided His holy word, that is, His commandments, testimonies and everything we need to know to be saved in the bible.

These days, the bible comes in all formats, whether hard copy or soft copy. Studying the bible is key to our salvation. It gives you hope.

The plethora of self help and inspirational books out there can’t save you. Only God can and you can reach him in His word. The bible teaches us about the laws and how we must obey them. It teaches us our history and prophecies of salvation. It’s like we have a piece of God in our hands, made possible because He loves His children. We must read the bible in its entirety, starting from the beginning all the way to the end so that we have a more complete understanding and picture of God’s truth.

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Prayer

• “Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5: 17) • “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5: 16)

Prayer Prayer is very serious and holy. It is often a private moment between you and God but can also be shared with loved ones. This is the moment when you present your gratitude, supplications and sorrows to the heavenly throne. And if done in sincerity, the Holy Spirit will take your prayer and bring it up as a sweet savor unto the Lord, making intercessions on your behalf (Romans 8:26-27). It is by law that we communicate to the Lord through constant prayer, paying homage to his glory and greatness (Ephesians 6: 17-18, Romans 12: 12). We cannot pray to God as we so choose because we are addressing an awesome being. The Lord has provided instruction on how we must pray daily (Matthew. 6: 7-13). The Lord’s Prayer acknowledges the holiness of God as well as make mention of our vital needs including protection, forgiveness, mercy and livelihood.

Following the Lord’s Prayer, we should present our own individual prayers both in the daytime and evening.

Prayer If we remain in constant prayer we will become active in our faith – creating an open line of communication between us and the Father.

We know the power of prayer is truly undeniable, with this power the afflicted can be healed; worldly temptations can be fought against; forgiveness can be rewarded and blessings can be bestowed.

And this power is made evident in his children, for we obtain comfort and peace in the knowledge that God will hear us (James 5: 15-16). The Lord is moved by our pleas and will help us according to his will (Psalms 102: 17 & Proverbs 15: 8). You can always come to Him whether it is concerning spiritual matters or common matters, such as, your job, school, family and overall guidance in life (Philippians 4: 6 & Matthew 21: 22). We do not pray for extravagant desires but are moved and compelled by the spirit to pray for what is necessary. !

Singing Praises

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• “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.” (Psalms 95: 1-2) ! !

Singing Praises God is omnipotent and great. His power is poured out on this entire earth. He is worthy of acknowledgement and praise. We must glorify the Lord in all ways (Psalms. 96: 1-4, 95: 1-6, 100: 1-2). Since the beginning of time, mankind, this entire earth and the heavens have praised God. We continue to do so through music, poetry, dance and artistic expression. Praising God evokes such great emotion within us as we commune with the entire throne of God. It is His will that we praise his name and lift him up. No one can deny why worshipping the Lord is such a need. Particularly through song, one is healed spiritually, your soul is comforted, you’re inspired to be stronger, it teaches you about the Lord and it can prophesy about his coming.

We are able to tune Satan out when we begin to praise the Lord that is why we must do it every day. !

Singing Praises Spiritual songs should not merely be about an exciting beat but provide a message reflecting God’s truth. The popular trend for gospel music is to now imitate the sounds of Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, rap or Pop music for the purpose of increasing their popularity and appeal. This is money driven. It has nothing to do with God. If you can talk you can sing.

The Holy Ghost will take the song that you sing and perfect it making it a sweet savor acceptable to God. !

How Often Should We Worship !

Now as far as my knowledge goes, the bible does not explicitly state how many times a day you should worship God. We do know that it should be done everyday. But I have learned by experience, that I am at my strongest when I have worship in the morning and then again in the evening. I liken it to beginning your day with God and ending your day with God. Now consider this, the word of God is our spiritual food. For Christ said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” (Matthew 4: 4). He also said in St. John 6: 35, “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never

hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” ! ! ! !

Daily Worship Just as we must nourish our bodies everyday with food, we too have to spiritually nourish ourselves each day.

Now when we eat, we typically eat more than once a day. Otherwise, many of us would lose energy, become weaker, maybe suffer from a headache or perhaps get a little nauseous.

Considering this point, it is not hard to see why it is best to have worship more than once a day. By doing so, it helps you keep your mind on God. Spiritually you become sharper and more focused, which enables you to better resist the devil. And we all want that.

Making Time Of course we all have different roles, obligations, work schedules and lifestyles. However, whether you are retired, a stay at home parent, fulltime worker or travel a lot, you still have to make time to worship the Lord. And I’m not talking about fitting Him in when you can. I’m talking about making a concerted and purposeful effort each day.

Worshipping God shouldn’t be a burden or rushed. Instead, you should minimize your distractions as much as possible and center your mind completely on the Lord.

My Goal I have personally set a goal to have worship twice a day. Both of these worship sessions include song(s), prayer and a scripture reading. I have been gradually getting up earlier so I can devote more time to my worship. At first, I started off with a 10 minute worship session and now I have increased to 25 minutes. Ultimately, I want to dedicate 30 minutes or more to my worship in both the AM and PM throughout the work week. Now it may seem strange to you that I am timing my worship sessions but I am a very goal oriented and structured individual. I always need something to work towards. A plan. You might do it differently from me and that is ok. As long as we do what God has instructed. This keeps us strong as individuals so that we can truly strengthen each other when we come together as a group to worship.

My Worship • When I have worship I want to involve all my senses and make it pleasurable and a delight.

• The environment I worship in has to always be tidy.

• I often light candles and play soft instrumental hymns as I pray or read scriptures.

• And of course I have my breakfast and a cup of delicious tea by my side.

• I absolutely enjoy it and look forward to it everyday.

The Benefits • The results of my worship plan have been such a benefit to me spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

• I have an increased desire and zeal to write more classes and songs for the Lord. My overall faith in God has grown.

• I am better able to focus and less distracted when I am praying and reading my bible.

• I notice the anxiety symptoms I was experiencing throughout the day have decreased (tension headaches, tingling sensations throughout my fingers and toes) • I have been feeling sick for quite some time and I notice that I am finally feeling better, which was a petition of mine to the Lord.

Conclusion So I end with these words. Never lose sight of your purpose. All that this world has to offer is fallible and will ultimately be destroyed. Nor is it worth your life or salvation. So worship God everyday, with all of your heart, mind and soul. Don’t submit to the excuses of “I’m too tired” or “I just don’t have the time.” Would we want God to say He was too tired or didn’t have the time to take care of us? No we wouldn’t.

Therefore, we must always remember God, in good and bad times. Spending quality time with our Maker through daily worship and study is ever nourishing to our soul. Amen.