Today as I was running and listening to some tunes, and praying, and reflecting, and....wait...I thought I was supposed to have my "quiet time" with God. Isn't it supposed to be quiet? And, what about "Be still and know that I am God"? How could I know He was God if I was running?
It got me thinking, for some reason, about prayer and getting to know God.
Do you ever feel like every person you talk to has a different idea about exactly how you are supposed to engage with God? There's nothing wrong with sharing inspiration and ideas about how you have connected with God. That's wonderful. But, I hope we never try to advise others to seek God in exactly the same way that we do, assuming it is the best way.
If I could quickly upload a photo, I would. But, truth is, I am too lazy. Now that I am spoiled by pushing a button and having a picture uploaded instantly to facebook, I never want to go through the hassle of taking a picture, loading to the computer, selecting it, uploading it to this, moving it to fit....yep...lazy!
Anyways, my picture would be of a large hard cover notebook laying open with many pages filled with handwriting. Laying beside the notebook would be a large bible, as well as 3 other books piled on top of it. That would be a snapshot of how I like to spend my daily morning time with God. It generally involves a LOT of words.
Surprised?
Not if you know me!
Sometimes I am nudged to put all the books aside and just "be" with God. And, sometimes I do just that. And, it's great.
But, if I am honest, most of my time with God involves lots of words. I love reading and gaining wisdom and insight from great writers. And, I love praying to God using words. I believe that He doesn't "need" all of my words. I could simply meditate my thoughts on something and that would be sufficient. But, when I express my heart in words, it is a better way for ME to dig deep and express and seek and ask and focus.
Have you ever evaluated how you best learn something? For me, it is to write it down. So, it is not surprising that I spend a lot of my time with God writing things down. It also happens to be my preferred mode of expressing things. Again, if you know me, you have probably received correspondence in writing from me. I still write hand-written letters and snail mail them!
So what?
Well, I just happened to think that I hope everyone who is on a journey to get to know God is willing to pursue him in their own unique way. Sure, be inspired by other peoples' journey. But, don't try to hard to model your journey after theirs. Seek your own path to God. But, whatever you do, SEEK! The very least that will require is your TIME. That is a non negotiable.
But beware of following too many "models" of exactly how to spend that seeking time. God created you. He knows you like no one else can. Seek him in whatever way is most pleasing and satisfying and fulfilling. You will know you are finding your connection to him when you start to fall in love with him and eagerly anticipate your time together. Whether it is alone in a quiet room, candlelight and instrumental music, outdoors or near a window, at the same time every day, at a new time every day, with books, without books, whatever! Seek, ask, knock, and find!
