Spending
a Half Day
with
the Lord
By Tom Virtue
 For
the past few years I've made it a practice, consistently for
the most part, of taking a 1/2 day each month to spend with the Lord. It
has turned out
to be a rewarding, growing experience serving as a checkpoint in my walk
with the Lord. Occasionally I've walked away with specific action points
of change that I seek to implement. More often I feel refreshed and refocused
spiritually and emotionally as I've had some time to read, reflect, listen,
and examine.
In a short amount
of space I will seek to give a few of my thoughts on how to go about spending
a 1/2 day, or, what the heck, maybe you would want to
make it a full day to spend with God.
First, we start with God. Psalm 139 talks about the greatness of God - that
He knows and is aware of everything, that He is everywhere we could go, and
that God will always be there to guide us. The writer of Psalms, after considering
God’s greatness and care toward us, then asks God:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalms 139:23,24)
That's a great way to start a time with God:
1) Be reminded and refreshed in the greatness and transcendence of God.
2) Be reminded that God relates and cares for you as an individual.
3) Seek God's examination of your heart, thoughts, and life and His guidance
in your life.
 Practically, that's how I try to start out each extended time with the Lord,
but of course, not always with Psalm 139. I find that any formula loses its
impact on my heart after one or two times of use. But I will prepare for
my times with God. I’ll try to decide on a passage of scripture, an article,
a chapter from a book, or maybe a collection of music to start out my half
day with God.
After
having a planned “start” the rest of my times are unplanned
and unstructured.
Maybe I'll...
• read through a whole book of the Bible (short one) and take note of some
simple applications at the end.
• be prompted to journal about my life, struggles, relationships and seek
God's wisdom in a particular area.
• take a walk and pray for some of what is on my heart currently.
• review my schedule for the past month and see how God has worked in ways
that I haven't noticed in the rush of doing things.
• ask God to give me some specific action points in terms of focus and
direction for the coming couple of weeks.
FAQs:
Where should I go?
My favorite place is a coffee place about a block and a half from the beach.
It feels like I get away, I can take a walk on the beach easily, and some of
the interesting people in a beach town remind me that this time with the Lord
isn't totally separated from reality. Whatever God says to me or how He directs
me needs to be connected to real life, not me being in the middle of a desert
somewhere.
Should there be people around?
All of us are different. I concentrate better and keep more focused if there
is activity around to provide stimulus. For me, loud music or loud people
don't help, but continuous activity and people around help keep me focused.
You may be different. Learn over a period of time how and when you can focus
the best.
What if I go to sleep?
I wouldn't get too concerned. Who do you think is going to be offended? God?
It may be a pretty good indication of your fatigue level and that you need
a bit of rest before you can focus in on the Lord. Some of my better times
with the Lord have included times of nap followed by a good insight and understanding.
The Lord is with you even when you sleep, so don't get down on yourself.
Thank the Lord for the good nap!
What if I choose a place and a big distraction develops?
I think God won't mind moving with you to another place where you can concentrate
more. Or maybe, He wants you to pray for the people who are distracting you
and gain some understanding of what peoples' lives are like without hope
(assuming the distraction is being caused by annoying people).
 What if I run out of things to do, read, pray about, or think about?
Praise works anytime, so simply turn to a place in Scripture and thank
God for what Scripture tells us is true of God, example: Psalms 138 “I
will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your
love and your faithfulness...When I called, you answered me...though the
Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly...the Lord will fulfill his purpose
for me.” (verses 2, 3, 6) Or, just listen to a favorite CD and
allow it to stimulate praise.
What if it takes me the whole time to quiet my heart?
Don't assume you need Ridalin. Maybe all God wanted to do in this time with
Him was to get you to a place where you could be quiet before Him. Occasionally
we just get overly distracted so it will be a challenge. This process becomes
easier with time so allow yourself to grow at it.
I hope that something comes across loud and clear in this short
article. I would hope that it's clear that this time is with God. It's
more about God
than it is about us. It's not about our expectations, needs, demands, or pictures
of what should happen. It's about getting alone with God and letting Him work
in your life. I'm surprised sometimes. Sometimes I'm a little blah. Sometimes
I'm as ecstatic as an introvert gets. But one thing stands out to me. I'm better
off as a follower of Christ for having built in these times in my schedule.
I highly recommend the discipline of marking off time that is sacred to be
spent with the living God no matter how long your "to do" list is,
or what demands are crowding in on you!
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