Connecting with God won’t happen by accident. We’ve got to be intentional.
The good news is that we can structure our day and week to connect with God. This can give us strength and refreshment in the midst of the daily grind.
Two ancient practices help us understand how to structure our lives to connect with God: the daily office and the Sabbath. I put these together based on the teaching of Peter Scazzero in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.
The daily office refers to structuring your day around connecting with God. It refers to the practice of Christians throughout the ages who have read the Bible, meditated, sung, and prayed at set times throughout the day.
I think this practice can really help us in our busy, distracted lives. The key thing is to take what we already do and add short or long moments of connecting with God. Here are some examples:
- Getting up ten minutes early to pray and read Scripture.
- Listening to songs of praise while you shave or shower.
- Praying with your children before they go to school or work.
- Memorizing a Scripture passage or verse on the way to work or school.
- Read a psalm and pray at the conclusion of your work time.
- If you have a job where you work with people, pray through the people you work with.
- Get a Bible app on your phone and have it send you a daily reading.
- Have a meal time with all or some of the members of your family, and conclude it with reading the Bible and prayer.
- Take a walk and observe nature around you, lifting your heart to the Lord.
- Read a book at lunch time.
- Have a regular phone or in person meeting with someone who will encourage you.
I wouldn’t suggest you do all of those things. Just try doing one or two of these things regularly instead of randomly. Make these practices a rule of thumb for yourself. Making them a rule helps ensure that we will actually do them. Urgent things tend to push out the most important. We have to fight for the important things. Also, we sometimes don’t feel like doing things in the moment that we should. The rule helps motivate us and keep us on track.
Don’t make your rules too iron clad. For example, if you didn’t pray before work one day, don’t worry about it. Do it the next time you go to work! A rule is meant to help you, not discourage you.
The Sabbath refers to our weekly structure. God commanded in the Ten Commandments that we would take one day in seven to set aside our normal labors and find delight in Him.
Most Christians observe a Sabbath to some degree. They also often incorporate other weekly practices that help them connect with God such as a Sunday School or small group. Some may have regular informal meetings with other Christians.
Think about your week. What are key things that could help you keep on track spiritually and connect with God? Schedule those in. That is the principle of Sabbath applied to our week.
Adding little times to connect with God throughout our day and longer times in the week can really help us find the joy and peace that God intends for us to have. Short times are less daunting, and they can be more regular. This keeps us connected to a refuge for our souls throughout the day. As Peter Scazzero explains in his book, the daily office and Sabbath can improve our emotional health and build our relationship with God. When we connect with God, we can be less frantic and more joyful. It just takes a little planning.