“Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.” – Philippians 3:12 (AMP)
Spending quality time with God on a daily basis can quickly become a task that we complete just for the sake of saying we did. When I began to feel this way, I had to assess why this time was important.
Thankfully, the Lord reminded me of the common goal of every believer’s life which is to be Christlike. It is our job to represent Christ here on earth so that others can learn of Him and be reconciled to their Heavenly Father through Him. (Matthew 28:18-20)
However, it is quite difficult to be Christlike if we do not spend time with Him to know more about Him. A lack of quality time with God also makes us vulnerable to the traps of Satan because we are not armed with truth of God’s word and prayer.
Moreover, as servants of God, we need to meet with our Master daily in order to receive instruction on how to best serve Him.
Lastly, our time with God is an expression of our love for Him. In John 14:15, Jesus equates love for Him to obedience and throughout the bible, God makes it clear that believers are to study His word. (2 Timothy 3:14-17, Psalms 1, Acts 17:11, Psalms 119:11)
Therefore, out of our love for God, a desire to obey Him ought to flow. That obedience begins with entering His presence daily to spend quality one-on-one time with Him.
PRAYER: God, thank You for making Yourself so easily accessible to me. I pray that You would create in me a heart that yearns for You daily. Let my desire to spend time with You be purely rooted in my love for You rather than legalism, selfish ambition or any other ulterior motive in Jesus’ Name. Amen.