The Importance of Private Time with God
Please click the play button below to listen to the audio instructions before you proceed with this important message. Thanks
Putting God First
Before we go any further with this important word from God. Let’s start by putting God FIRST! Do you love spending time with God? Pray with me at this moment of time as I approach our heavenly Father. “Father God, we love You with our whole heart, soul, mind and with all of our strength according to your word in (Mark 12:30). Forgive us if we sinned in anyway knowingly and unknowingly against you. Thank you, Lord for your GRACE and MERCY. Thank you, Father for granting us a brand-new day of MERCIES. We touch and agree with the words of this prayer. Declaring it done in the precious name of Jesus. Amen”.
I am going to pause for a minute. I ask that you take this moment to personally pray for your immediate needs and pray for a greater revelation of His word today. Amen
Are You Spending Time with God?
Why is Spending Private Time with God so Important?
Why is it so important for us as Christian to spend private time with God? Can you imagine being a member in a large family and you live in the same city or nearby town with your family, but the only time that you call your father or visit or spend quality time or any time with him is when you have an emergency or you are in need of something from him right away. How would you feel if your child treated you this way?
The same thing happens to your heavenly Father too. Just like so many Christians and non-believers today, the only time that we call upon God is when we need something special from Him right away. I know that you are not God, but how would you feel, if you were God? The truth is that our relationship with God is only as good as our private time that we spend with Him. God loves you and He wants to have a Father-child relationship with you (Proverbs 8:17, Jeremiah 29:11, John 15:5, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 4:16 and 1 John 4:19).
Remembering the Moment You First Fell in Love with God
You say that you love God, but do you put God first? How many of us really spend quality time or any time with Him? Do you remember the tearful moment of joy when you first fell in love with God and the moment you had accepted Christ as your Savior? Like so many Christians at that moment, you were so hungry for God and you were willing to learn more about Him and you were willing to do everything and anything necessary to be in His presence. Do you remember crying out loud at that moment “Lord, I surrender all for You!” God definitely remembers that moment too. The bible says in (Luke 15:10) at the moment of your acceptance of Christ, the angels in heaven were rejoicing for you too. Amen
God Loves When We Spend Time with Him
We all need to spend private time, aka, (me time), aka (one on one) time with God. Yes, our prayer life is our most important private time with God. We must also listen and wait upon God’s response and guidance to our prayers. I have learned during my 30 years of ministry the importance of spending private time with God.
Jesus said in (Matthew 6:6) “go to your secret place, pray and God will reward you”. God loves to hear from us and especially when we spend private time with Him.
King David wrote something amazing in (Psalms 42:1-2) “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. my soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God”? King David knew the hunger and importance of spending private time with God first hand. That is why, I believe he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write 73 of the 150 Psalms and why I believe he was so victorious in battles.
Approaching God in the Spirit
Let me share this valuable lesson that I had learned during my bible college days at World Harvest Bible College’s School of the Spirit. The bible says in (John 4:23-24) especially in verse 24 “That God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The bible is clear that when we approach God and we want to be obedient to His Word, we must do so in the spirit. I do believe that God loves it, especially when we get into the spirit to meditate, talk and sing to him.
Our Spiritual God grants us a private audience that allows us to spiritually communicate and express our love, our personal emotions, our personal praises of joy, our personal lamentations, and to personally give God the praises and thanksgivings for the blessing that he has given to us and to also praise Him and to thank Him in advance for what He is planning to do in our future. Amen and Hallelujah!
My Personal Best Private Times with God
Here are my three best private times that I spend with God: (1) First and foremost, is my morning prayers – immediately in the morning upon getting up, even before my feet hit the ground, I give God thanksgiving for waking me up and giving me another day of mercies. I then go into my secret place, speak my prayer request, plant my I AM seeds into the atmosphere and make my I AM declarations known to God. (Examples. I AM blessed, I AM more than a Conqueror, I AM for Christ), (2) during my daily devotional time, I read and meditate on God’s words in the quietness of my basement (my secret space), and (3) while jogging or walking alone at the park. I love looking at the beauty of His creations and shouting my admirations into the atmosphere about the marvelous handy work that God has created, while at the same time listening to anointed gospel music from my Private Time page (listed at the bottom of this page) while joyfully singing His praises along the way.
Spiritually speaking, the revelation and impartation of the writing of The Great Commission Pledge and the conception of this website were birth during one of these private encounters with God as a reminder of our responsibility as believers to Jesus’ command about our part in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and (Acts 1:6-8).
Five Recommended Ways to Spend Time with God
These are the five recommendations that work best for our ministry. Of course, there are many more ways to spend private time with God. You will need to develop what works best for you.
1. Spend Time in Prayer
One of the best ways that we can communicate with God is through our spoken prayers. We should always put God first in our day, it will impact the way we face each day. The earlier we wake up, the better. Time spend with God alone is well worth the time spend.
Always start off your prayer by thanking Him for being your heavenly Father and for everything that He has done in your life. Then, pray for your needs and for those of others that you know. Find the time and your secret place and meet with God daily. (Matthew 6:6) says “go to your secret place, pray and God will reward you”. God loves hearing from you. He said in (Jeremiah 33:3) call upon me and I shall answer you. Your prayer doesn’t have to be long and complicated. It’s really just you talking to God just like you would to your earthly father. Learn how to listen to God which is just as important. Record what God has spoken to you in your prayer journal.
It is a must that you start a prayer journal. In it, don’t just write your prayers. Write bible verses that speak to your heart, write prayer requests for others, write a praise poem, or whatever else you feel will connect you to God in worship. Use Philippians 4:8 to inspire your writing: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”
Second to Fourth Ways to Spend Time with God
2. Spend Time Reading the Bible
Read the Bible, which is God’s Word written Word. Before you start, ask God to speak to you through its pages. Ask God for the revelation and a good understanding of what you are about to read. Memorize key bible verses as much as you can. Consider reading daily devotions for more understanding. Record what you have learned in your prayer journal.
3. Spend Quiet Time with God
Experience God’s peace by seating quietly with Him. Ask God to speak to your heart and listen for the still quiet voice. Repeat God’s promises to you as reminder that “he is actually not far from you (Acts 17:27).
4. Spend Time in Worship
Fifth Way to Spend Time with God
5. Spend Time Fasting
Fasting isn’t merely an act of self-deprivation, but a spiritual discipline for seeking more of God’s fullness. Which means we should have a plan for what positive pursuit to undertake in the time it normally takes to eat. We spend a good portion of our day with food in front of us. One significant part of fasting is the time it creates for prayer and meditation on God’s word or some act of love for others.
Before diving headlong into a fast, craft a simple plan. Connect it to your purpose for the fast. Each fast should have a specific spiritual purpose. Identify what that is and design a focus to replace the time you would have spent eating. Without a purpose and plan, it’s not Christian fasting; it’s just going hungry.
What is Next?
Thank you for spending this time with us. We are one Ministry with two Holy Spirit inspired International website ministries. We are touching the world one person, one family, and one nation at a time. Please visit our pages below by clicking on the icons below. Our Private Time music link will help you spend more private time with God in song and dance. Read (Psalm 100:1-5) and (2 Timothy 2:15). Please visit our devotional and Bible Sudy Tools page which will give you additional resources to help you study more. You can click on the Devotional icon below when you are ready.
Please share our website with others. We also ask, if our ministry has been a blessing to you and God has placed it on your heart to sew a seed, please any amount can help us spread the Gospel. Thank you in advance and may God bless you.
Lloyd C. Glover
Lloyd C. Glover , Pastor
Mailing Address
The Great Commission Pledge (I AM for Christ Ministries) P.O. Box 144 Groveport, Ohio 43125