15 Simple Ways to Spend Time with God
There are a variety of ways to connect with God on a daily basis to grow your faith and empower your spiritual walk. Here are 15 simple ways to spend time with God you can implement immediately.
Whether you don’t have much time and need some quick on the go ideas or if you have a lot of time and are ready to dive deeper in your relationship with Christ Jesus these tips can help you get started.
Developing a personal relationship with God takes practice, intentionality and grace. When a busy schedule or life change threatens to derail your time with God one important thing to remember is quality time is more important than the quantity of time.
Whether you have an hour or 5 minutes prioritize spending time with God whenever you can.
Why spending time with God matters
Personal time with God is important to believers for growth in knowledge of Him and experiences with Him. Here are just a few Bible verses to support why spending time with God matters for believers.
1. Jesus modeled prioritizing time with God.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary places, where he prayed. -Mark 1:35
2. Spending time with God blesses us.
Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” -Luke 11:28
3. Your faith grows.
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. -Romans 10:17
How to get started spending time God
You KNOW going to the gym is good for you, but you still never make it. You KNOW date night would make you a better spouse, but it’s still a struggle to schedule it. You KNOW you should budget, but you rarely actually write it down.
Like any relationship in your life you need to make your time with God a priority. This doesn’t mean you have to spend time with God first thing in the morning, but simply that you set aside some time each day to grow your Christian life.
This is absolutely hard to do in certain seasons of life (definitely when my kids were all newborns/toddlers and I was barely sleeping… it was hard!). But God will honor and bless any effort do draw close to Him.
James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”
Make it a rhythm
Begin to have your time with God at the same time everyday, whether that’s in the morning or right before bed or some other time during the day. Much like any other new habit, spending time with God can become a life-giving rhythm that is as second nature as brushing your teeth.
Allow it to be imperfect
Here’s the thing: if you expect that “perfect quiet time” every time–you will probably be disappointed or feel guilty that you are doing something “wrong”. There are a thousand different ways to spend time with God. Allow your time with God to be creative, messy, and imperfect.
Allow it to include your children. Allow it to be short. Release your expectations of how God may speak to you and you’ll begin to hear and see Him moving in fresh ways all day long.
For more about how I personally spend my time with God (and how 4 of my friends spend their time with God) check out the post below!
Attach something pleasurable alongside it.
This is a tip I gained from the book Atomic Habits, and is perfect for those who don’t enjoy reading their Bible and feel a bit disconnected– attach something pleasurable alongside your time with God.
For me, it’s a cup of coffee. It could be a relaxing playlist or a cozy blanket for you. Let the joy of the little thing come alongside and add extra pleasure to your time with God.
15 Ways to Spend Time with God
There isn’t just one way to spend time with your Heavenly Father. Some days you may not be able to have a set aside time with God when you get your hot cup of coffee, read extensively, cross reference, journal and do all the things.
But the Holy Spirit isn’t limited to speaking just at one time of day! These tips and practices are perfect for connecting with God all day long. If I want a vibrant relationship with Jesus, a faith that fuels every SECOND of my life–I can’t stop connecting with God when my devotional time is over.
1. Bible Study
God’s Word is key to spending time with Him. It is how we learn about His character and see His faithfulness on display. Choosing a Bible study or Bible reading plan is important (here are some of my favorites!), but it can be incredibly simple.
- Read God’s Word
- Respond to God.
To learn more about studying the Bible be sure to grab your FREE BIBLE STUDY CONFIDENCE KIT to help guide you through your Bible reading.
Scripture reading is a wonderful place to start when you are seeking to spend time with God.
2. Prayer
Prayer is simply talking to God. You may talk with Him about problems in your life, about His character, about things you’re thankful for, or about your feelings and frustrations–no matter what type of prayer you are praying God welcomes our prayers as His dear children.
A few tips if you feel intimidated by prayer.
- Writing out longer prayers can help you focus and concentrate.
- Remember short prayer is just as effective. One short prayer I pray all day long is simply “God be near”.
- I don’t wait for my prayer time. When I see a friend asking for prayer on social media: I pray right away for them. When I feel impatience taking over, I stop and pray aloud asking God to help me. When I feel worried I pray Scripture over myself right in the moment.
3. Worship music
I love worshipping God! Whether your playlist is full of old hymns or the latest praise and worship song–music is an incredible way to worship and connect with God all day long.
Here’s my mega-long Worship Playlist filled with songs I love.
4. Fellowship with believers
Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Whether you are gathered for a church service, small groups, or simply stop to pray with friends on a playdate– the presence of God is found in the gathering of believers.
The Bible calls Christians family members and our love and care for each other should reflect God’s love and care for the whole world.
Ask fellow Christians “What has God been teaching you lately?” or “What have you been reading in your Bible study?” or “What are you praying about?” . While these questions may seem awkward at first, many believers are craving deeper conversations and authenticity in their relationships with other Christians.
5. Place Scripture around you
Now this doesn’t have to look like Hobby Lobby exploded all over your house, but place God’s Word where you can see it often. Take a Bible verse you’ve written out on a note card and place it by your desk or kitchen sink or above your dryer.
Make a challenging Bible verse or one you want to meditate on the photo on your phone’s lock screen. Fill your eyes with God’s Word.
RELATED PRODUCT: CLAIMING THE PROMISES OF GOD VERSE CARDS
6. Notice God in His creation
Connecting with God in nature is one of my favorite things to do. When I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, a quiet walk with my Father is often exactly what I need. In nature I see God’s beauty, order, creativity and design and I worship Him.
I also notice God in His creation of people. I see and name when I see God’s traits in others–from my kids to my spouse to a fellow Jesus follower to a Walmart cashier–people reflect God!
7. Practice of thanksgiving
Finally, I practice being thankful and writing down my daily things I am thankful for. This helps me notices God’s goodness and work He is doing all around me. You can read more about cultivating a thankfulness habit here!
Counting God’s grace to me is such a life-giving habit and helps me spend time with Him all day long.
8. Breath Prayers
Breath prayer is a type of prayer and spiritual practice that can calm your spirit and reconnect you with God in a powerful, but simple way. It is a great way to calm anxiety and overwhelm by joining prayer and meditation. You can stop and connect with God through breath prayer anytime of the day!
9. Write Out Scripture
Writing the Word is one of my favorite spiritual practices. You can learn more about it in Tips for Scripture Journaling, but my favorite thing about it is the way it slows down my brain to help my heart catch up with what I’m actually reading.
Both of my Bible studies heavily use Scripture journaling because I believe it is a powerful way to spend time with God!
10. Read your kids Christian books and stories from the Bible.
As a busy mom this is sometimes the best way I can connect with God! As I read my kids Bible stories or spiritual truths I am also refreshing my and renewing my heart in God’s presence! Here’s a short list of children’s books that really bless MY faith!
- The Jesus Storybook Bible
- Tales That Tell the Truth – Specifically The Friend Who Forgives (the whole series is great though!)
- A Brave Big Sister – Another great series about female leaders in the Bible! They have Deborah and Rahab too.
- Creative God, Colorful Us
- Jesus Calling Bible Storybook
11. Solitude
So much of our modern life is on-the-go. Alone time is a luxury. Sitting with God alone, in solitude can draw our hearts to Him as we still and quiet our bodies.
Psalm 46:10 reminds us, “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Getting alone with God will probably take a higher degree of intentionality for us. We may need to plan a special day away with the Lord. But even taking an hour or two alone in a park or coffee shop away from the distractions of social media, tv shows, work, and household pressure can open up fresh ways for us to connect with God.
12. Silence and Listening
This one goes right along with solitude, but takes it a step further. Sometimes we are so busy talking to God, serving, reading His Word–all which are good things– we neglect the importance of silence and listening.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” -Matthew 10:38-42
Take time to listen to God. The more often you tune in to His voice the easier it becomes to do. You can rest assured as you listen in silence for the Lord His voice will always align with Scripture.
13. Serving
Serving others is one way we can connect and spend time with God. Although it may not seem as obvious as some other ways, serving God using our spiritual gifts and/or personal abilities is a beautiful way to enter into God’s presence.
Jesus set the best example for us when as one of his very last acts on earth He chose to serve his disciples by washing their feet.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. -John 13:15
14. In the car or while you’re commuting
Using your time in the car to connect with God by listening to the Bible being read, by learning from sermons or spiritual podcasts or by listening to worship music. Using your time in the car (or commuting by bus, subway or walking) to get to know God can be a very practical way to grow your faith in busy seasons.
15. Memorizing Scripture Verses
Scripture memory is another good example of how you can spend time with God even when life is hectic. The Scripture you memorize you take with you everywhere so you can reflect, write, or pray back the verse you’ve learned to God.
I like using hand motions and memorizing verses with my kids! Here are some other great tips for memorizing Scripture (even as an adult with a less than stellar memory). I love memorizing Bible verses with my kids!
Connecting with God isn’t just a one-time act we do on Sundays or even confined to a certain time of day, but something we embrace as a life-long, all-day-long, every moment holy pursuit of knowing our great and gracious God.
It’s so important to have daily time to connect with God in small ways and planning on a regular basis to have longer time to spend with God will greatly grow your faith.
Which of these ways do you practice most regularly? Which do you enjoy the most? Don’t forget to grab your copy of the Bible Study Confidence Kit!
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