Introduction

We continue with Part IV from the booklet Spending Time With God, written by Pastor Danny Hodges of Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg in Florida.
Fellowship with God is a tremendous privilege. It's also meant to be an amazing adventure every believer can experience. With inspiration and personal insight, Pastor Danny presents practical steps for developing a vibrant daily devotional life. Discover the privilege and the adventure as you learn the keys to spending time with God.

Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part V, Part VI or Part VII.

The Routine for Spending Time With God

What does spending time with God look like?
Now that we've discussed the requirements for successful times with God, you may be wondering: How do I spend time with God? Where do I begin? What should I do? Is there a routine? Basically, there are two essential ingredients for spending time with God: the Word of God and prayer. Let me try to paint a practical picture of what spending time with God might look like as we include these two vital elements.

The Word of God

Start with the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible reveals God. God is a living being. He's a person. And because the Bible is the Word of God— because it reveals who God is—it is one of the most necessary ingredients for having fellowship with God. We need to spend time reading the Word of God to learn about God.
It may sound simple to say, "Read the Word." But, many of us have tried it without much success. Not only do we need to read the Word, we also need to understand it and apply it to our lives.

Here are five practical suggestions on how to go about understanding and applying God's Word.

• Have a Plan.
  When you read the Word of God it's best to have a plan, or you'll probably give up very quickly. As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. Sometimes a young man will ask a girl out on a date and get all excited if she says yes. But then he goes to pick her up, and she asks, "Where are we going?"
  
  If he hasn't planned ahead, he'll give the typical response, "I don't know. Where do you want to go?" I used to do this to my wife when we were dating, and it's amazing that she married me. If he's like me, he probably won't make much progress until he gets his act together. Girls usually like things to be planned when they go out on a date. They want the guy to be considerate, to think ahead, and plan where they will go and what they'll do.
  
  Similarly, some people try to read the Word, but they don't have a plan. Their plan is simply to open up the Bible and read whatever page is in front of them. Occasionally, their eyes will fall on a particular verse, and it will be exactly what they needed for the moment. But, we should not depend on this type of random reading of God's Word. Once in a while you may just plop open your Bible and discover a timely word from the Lord, but that's not the "norm." If your reading is planned and systematic, you will gain a better understanding of the context of each passage and come to learn the whole counsel of God, rather than just bits and pieces.
  
  Our weekend worship services are planned. We select the music. The musicians practice regularly so that the Lord can use them more effectively. I study and prepare for what I'm going to teach. I don't just stand up in front of everybody and say to myself, Okay Lord, give it to me. It doesn't happen that way. We have set a plan to study through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, covering the New Testament on weekends and the Old Testament on Wednesdays. Likewise, you ought to have a plan for reading the Word, one that includes a goal of reading from Genesis through Revelation, because God wrote it all for us. He doesn't want us to leave any of it out.
  
  I used to skip parts of the Old Testament when I got to those long lists of names and genealogies. I would think to myself, "Why in the world did God put this in here?" Well, God showed me. He gave me a thought one day, and I know it was from Him. As I was beginning to skip over what I considered a boring and meaningless list of names, He said to me, "Those names don't mean anything to you, but they mean a lot to me, because I know every one of them." God showed me how personal He was. Now, every time I read them, I'm reminded of how personal God is. He knows us by name, and He knows every person that has ever been created. He's a very personal God.
  
  So, have a plan. There are a wide variety of plans available for reading through the Bible. Most likely, your local church or Christian bookstore will have several selections to choose from. You might even find one in the front or back of your own Bible. Most reading plans take you through the entire Bible in one year. It doesn't take a lot of time, and if you will do it regularly, in just one year you'll have read God's Word from cover to cover. Imagine reading through the entire Bible not once, but several times! Since we already know that the Bible reveals a living God, that's a great way to get to know Him. All it takes is a genuine desire and a bit of discipline and perseverance.