Each day we each allotted the same amount of time: 1,440 minutes. If one utilizes their time wisely it’s often called “time well spent.” Unwisely? Some would say “wasting time.” Regardless, each day, everyone decides how to spend their time.

Isn’t it interesting how many phrases we employ with the word “time?” Quality time, summer time, spring time, down time, time to relax, screen time, me time, and the list goes on and on. In some sports, like football and basketball, when they stop playing it’s called a “time out,” and the pause in the middle of the game is called “half time.”

When I was in radio, my shift was technically called the “afternoon drive time shift.” Radio station ratings in any given market are determined by the amount of time the average listener surveyed spends listening to each radio station at one time, before changing the station or turning it off. They refer to this as TSL, or time spent listening.

People spend their time doing all sorts of things, like working a job (often referred to as “trading time for money,”) relaxing, watching a movie or reading a book. It takes time to learn a new skill. In the evening, some folks enjoy a cup of Sleepy-time tea. Why? Well, because it’s almost bedtime.

We’re all concerned about time every day, aren’t we? How often during the day do we check to see what time it is? The point is, each day we spend our time, our 1,440 minutes, on something. And, if we want to, we can choose to spend some of those minutes with God.

How Do We Spend Time With God?

Spending time with people involves listening and talking. It’s the same with God. The main way to listen to God is to read His Words. The Bible tells us the Scriptures came from holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. It also says, “All Scripture is God breathed,” meaning God spoke and then those holy men wrote.

Jesus said in Matthew 22, “Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying…” and he then went on to quote scripture. Jesus Christ believed the Scriptures were God speaking to you.

Awesome!

What an awesome position to take: the Bible is God speaking to you! The Bible is not man inspired, but rather, God told them what to write. It takes humility to accept the Scriptures as God speaking to you. That’s why rightly understanding God’s Word is so vitally important. It certainly is important when listening to others, isn’t it? What about when God is speaking to you?

Reading His Word is the main way we listen to God. In addition there are the manifestations of holy spirit, and any other way God wants to speak to us or get our attention.

God spoke to Moses via a burning bush. There’s a record in the Bible of a man’s jackass speaking directly to him! (Quite an attention getter!) At times God sends angels to speak for Him. We spend time with God by listening to Him.

We also spend time with God by speaking to Him. That also takes humility, because we can’t see Him can we? But He sees us! And He hears us!

Amazing!

The Bible says the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers. Isn’t it just amazing when we talk to the Creator of the heavens and earth, He hears us! Do we believe that? If we don’t believe that, we won’t talk to Him, except maybe in a crisis.

His ears really are open to our prayers! Us? Yes, us! And it takes humility to believe that.

Jesus Christ taught about speaking to God. He taught about prayer, he encouraged people to pray, and he himself was a man of prayer. Numerous records in the gospels show this, but my favorite is in Mark, Chapter 1, where it says, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

Jesus Christ chose to use some of his 1,440 minutes by spending time with God in prayer. He talked to God. One might think he didn’t need to spend any of his minutes in prayer; after all, he was the Son of God; he walked perfectly, and he demonstrated the power of God like no one ever had. And yet, he still made time to pray. For Jesus, it was important, very important.

And, did Jesus listen to God? It’s very obvious he not only listened to God by reading the Scriptures, but he also rightly understood what God was speaking in His Word. On the road to Emmaus, recorded in Chapter 24 of Luke’s Gospel, it says, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he [Jesus] expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Jesus Christ had the humility to listen to God by reading and understanding the Scriptures, believing it was God, His Father, speaking to him. He also listened to God by way of the manifestations of holy spirit. And he also spent some of his 1,440 minutes with God, His Father, by speaking to Him in prayer. What an example!

We can spend any part of our day with God. Spending time with God is a great way to begin the day, before all the demands of life and distractions are upon us.

This New Year, like every New Year, it’s all about time. Use some of your time to spend time with God.

Proverbs 8:17
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.