Do you struggle with finding time to spend with God? A moment to really find peace and quiet to read and speak through prayer.

Prayer is such and important part of our faith and as a mom of young children it can seem almost impossible to find quite time to pray.

Just know you are not alone.
 

Distractions

Life is busy.
Kids are demanding.
Husband wants attention.
Mama is exhausted.

Desire

When my kids were little and I was a new Christian, I had the desire to spend time with the Lord, but it just seemed like something always came up to distract me.  Before I knew, the day was over and I failed once again to have my Quiet time with the Lord.  I was beat and I would crawl into my bed, start saying my prayers, and fall asleep. Now, I guess falling asleep while praying is a peaceful way to fall asleep, but it does not do much for a better prayer life.

Difference

I knew God loved me and wanted me to spend time with Him daily, and, I wanted to. I am not sure exactly what made me decide to do something different, whether it was a sermon, or a Sunday school lesson or just someone making a suggestion, but my prayer life changed. I started by praying a prayer and making a commitment to God that I would not go to bed without first getting on my knees and praying. I asked God to give me more of a hunger for Him.

Acronym for Quiet time.

Q    Quite place – Find a place in your home where you can open your bible and pray.
U    Uninterrupted – It is important to your prayer life to take at least 15 minutes without
kids, spouse, cell phone or television.
I     “I” listen to God – Find a reading plan or devotional guide you like and read God’s
Word every day.  The Bible You Version on the iPhone or Smartphone has great
options.  Ask God to speak to you.  Listen for Him to speak through a verse.
E    Empty yourself – Ask God to reveal to you anything which displeases Him.
T    Time to journal – Buy a notebook and write your prayers to God, write
down your prayer requests and the scripture you read, and how it spoke to you.

T    Talk to God – God already knows what you are thinking, and your circumstances.
Pour your heart out to Him, ask Him to answer, help, forgive and change you.

I    Intensify your walk with God – Pray God’s Scripture – place your name, your child’s
name, your spouses name or anyone you are praying for in the scripture where it
says, “I”, “He”, “She”, “Me”, “You.” Write it your journal and pray it aloud. You
will always be praying God’s will when you are praying God’s Word.
M   Meet with God – Everyday meet with God. Tell Him you love Him. Look up words
in the back of your Bible you want to read more about, like forgiveness, peace,
children, love, joy. It will lead you to a scripture, which speaks to that subject.
E    Excitement builds/Emotions heal – When you meet with God everyday, pray and
read the Bible you will start seeing your life change. It doesn’t immediately change
your circumstances but it will change you.

I prayed this prayer 18 years ago.

It changed my life as a follower of Christ. Consistency has not always been easy and now I do my Quiet Time first thing in the morning. It is not about when or what time you have your time alone with the Lord, it is about the commitment. God desires to spend time with you. When you love someone, you want to spend time with that person. I read today, “Can you imagine talking with your spouse or child once a week? ” We want to spend more time then that with them and God is no different,  He wants more time with you then once a week.  When we spend time with our Heavenly Father, we fall more deeply in love Him!

Here are a few benefits of prayer, in no special order:

“Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” (Psalms 27:7, 8 NLT)

Dear Lord,
Hear __________ as she/he prays, O Lord. Be merciful and answer _____________!
_______________’s heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with you.” And _______________’s heart responds, “Lord, ______________ is coming.”
In Jesus Name, Amen
Please leave a comment with something you do, which others might find helpful for having a better Quiet Time. Or if this has encouraged you in anyway, please let us know.