Spending Time with God

Introduction

Welcome to Spending Time with God: The Art of Christian Meditation and Prayer.

My prayer and meditation time has become my favorite part of the day. This routine, where I put my Creator first in my life, has given me a sense of stability and wisdom that was missing before. It is a time where I can feel true joy, be totally myself, open up to a higher being, and feel secure, energized, and loved beyond what the world can give me. This experience is open to anyone who is longing for a deeper relationship with their higher power or wants to strengthen their faith.

Many of the big decisions and inspirations of my life have come out of things the Holy Spirit has put on my heart during this time. As I have been spending devoted time with Jesus, my relationship has grown into a rich, complex, and fulfilling experience. I have been inspired to do things that I am totally unprepared to do, but somehow people come into my life—and everything falls into place.

When sharing my experiences with people about this, so many say they struggle with finding the time or place to pray and meditate. A calling developed in my heart to try to explore solutions to these struggles, and that is what inspired me to write this book. It’s not that people don’t want to spend time with God, there are a multitude of reasons why it isn’t happening for them. By exploring possible reasons and setting yourself up for success, you can have a deep relationship with Him, which will be the most important thing you do all day.

Personally, it has not always been easy to connect with my Creator. I was raised in a Christian family, and even though I didn’t consider my faith to be strong as a youth and teen, I always knew God was there. Looking back, I can see how His power permeated my life.

One of the struggles I had as a youth was that I viewed God just as an authority figure who watched everything I did, judged it, and then punished me or expected me to pay penance if I was not perfect. It was difficult to call Him my friend; subsequently, I did not want to invest in a relationship with Him. I remember times when I was about ten or eleven, where I felt intense fear and feeling like something intangible was there, especially at night, but I didn’t know that I could call on the name of Jesus. If anyone is experiencing anything like this at night, I want you to know the name of Jesus has the power to remove darkness.

In my high school years, like so many teens, I was very vulnerable because I did not have a strong sense of who I was spiritually—and I did not know what God could do. As I grew older and read the Bible for myself, my views changed to more of a loving God who sent His Son to save me, who is above me, but mostly beside me. He is always helping and eagerly forgiving me when I ask.

God put needed people into my life to inspire me to learn more about Him, including my church family, my biological family, and my Bible study friends. As my faith journey went on, I discovered prayer time to be healing, inspiring, and powerful.

Prayer and meditation may be a totally new concept to you—or maybe you are just curious about learning more. Regardless, I hope that by sharing ideas and experiences, all can benefit and grow deeper in our faith.

Whether you are a CEO or a student, you can benefit from carving this time out of your day:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. (Psalm 32:8)

The wisest people seek counsel from the Lord. Historically, American presidents have sought counsel from spiritual leaders to help them gain wisdom. Going through life without Jesus and trying to figure everything out by yourself is like living life by a dim light. It is like using a matchstick for light when you have the sun.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome. (John 1:4–5)