Making the Time (Friday Devotional)

 

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

- James 4:8

“Can we read tonight?”

It’s a question that, especially on busy nights, I know the kids are inevitably going to ask me. Bedtime reading is something they never want to skip—I’m not sure if it’s the book they enjoy, the quality time, getting to stay up for a few extra minutes, or all of the above, but regardless, that time is important to them.

In a perfect world, I would say yes every time; I would give them the 10 minutes they’re begging for. But I confess, some nights I don’t. Some nights we don’t get home until an hour past their bedtime. Some nights I’m worn out from a long day and don’t have it in me. Some nights they’re bouncing off the walls and I don’t want to reward them. And so some nights I send them to bed without reading to them.

But here’s the thing: I always regret it afterwards. No matter how good my excuse is in the moment, I always wish later that I’d taken the time—just a few minutes—to read to my children. After all, someday they’re going to stop asking.

Along those lines, I’m reminded of a common teaching in the evangelical church about the importance of a daily “quiet time,” a personal devotional time between you and God. To be clear, there’s no explicit command in Scripture that you devote 15 minutes to Bible reading and prayer every day. But just as obvious is that doing so is fruitful—it’ not a coincidence that the gospel writers tell us Jesus often rose early and spent time alone in prayer.

For my part, I do not legalistically set aside 15 minutes per day to read a few Bible verses and pray as though doing so were one of the Ten Commandments. But I’ll tell you this—when I don’t make that kind of time for the Lord, I miss it.

Some days are so busy it feels like you can’t find time for the Lord. Some days you’re so distracted that you feel like you can’t possibly focus on your Bible. Some days you just don’t feel like having a quiet time. I get it; really, I do.

But just like my kids want that time with their Dad, your heavenly Father wants some time with you. Don’t let momentary priorities pull you away from what truly matters.