He Deserves Our Time

I had been interviewing for a job I really wanted.

I woke up every morning at 5am to meet with God about it. Every day, I was in the living room with my bible & journal by 5:15 a.m., and in the word for over an hour before heading out to go to work. I prayed and prayed about this new job. The interviews lasted for four weeks, and God answered my prayers by telling me it was not the right time.

I didn’t get the job. Yes, I was bummed, but I became content with that answer after a few days.

But over the following weeks, I started to wake up later and later. Mornings became a burden. I slept in. I hit snooze multiple times: 5:00am, 5:15am, 5:30am, 6am, etc. until finally, I started setting my alarms for 6:45am for just enough time to get ready and run out the door to go to work.

Those hectic mornings turned into weeks, and then months. Finally, I asked myself, how did I get here? I traced it back to interviews, and I realized I stopped waking up for my quiet time because I felt I didn’t need something from God anymore. There wasn’t anything I had to ask for from God anymore.

I never thought I would get to a point in my life where I put God on the back burner and run to Him only when I need something… He was no longer my priority.

Do you ever find yourself running to God more often when you want something from Him? When something in your life is going wrong. When you are hoping for a certain outcome. When someone is sick. I find myself praying more when I need something.

We know it to be true that God is good. We know it to be true that God is faithful and caring and compassionate. And these are the reasons we go to Him when we really want or need something. Because we KNOW God will still be there for us and we KNOW God will still love us.

We get what we need, and we move on. Sometimes without even a thank you.

God wants us to bring everything to Him in prayer. In fact, He commands it, it’s is okay to pray for the things we need and desire. It’s comforting that we can go to God for our wants and needs, knowing He will never leave us.

But our requests should not be the primary role of our prayers and time spent with God.

We shouldn’t reserve our time with God for when we need something from him.

God wants so much more — a long-lasting, sincere, fulfilled relationship with us. He wants our fellowship. He wants to be loved.

Just like a close friend, you wouldn’t go to them only when you need something from them.

Our friends are there for us, but we also spend time with them because we love spending time with them. We gather together in fellowship, sharing our common interests & beliefs, investing our time, and caring for each other. God also wants our fellowship.

It’s important to seek God in all moments, and not to just pray when it’s convenient.

I’m learning that this takes practice.

Our savior deserves our time.

He wants to hear the desires of your heart. But he desperately wants the rest of you too. Just like a close friend, let’s remember that God has feelings. He absolutely wants to hear your wants and needs. But he also wants your friendship.