Time is the Currency of Relationship

Looking out over the Hudson River, the hardwoods ablaze with color, crisp fall air gently pushing back the warmth of the sun on the veranda, I connected with God. It was such a beautiful afternoon. We went in for dinner and one of the monks read from the Screwtape Letters. After Vespers, I lay in bed reading the Bible by the light of a small lamp and fell off to asleep.

I awoke to a knock at the Abby door. "I trust you slept well, sir. The Lord be with you."

"And also with you." I replied. I lay there thinking about what sort of devotion these monks had to their Lord Jesus. The Spirit of God was so gentle, so inviting, that I nearly missed morning communion. Maybe if I spent more time in devotions, I thought...

This week the faithful are going to talk about what their daily devotions look like. I am sure that we are no more pious than than the average believer - we shall soon see. If you missed our series on Creative Ways to Spend Time with God, check out some of the posts.

If you've been following along either on Kingdom Bloggers, or Fire & Grace, you know that I am not a typical Christian. I assure you there are many molds that I don't fit in.

I guess I would like to start by saying what I don't do. I don't have a set prayer time, I don't have set Bible reading time, and I don't have a regular fellowship. I am sure that I would be the target of a sermon during Lenten devotions. I work 9 hours a day plus two more hours commuting each weekday. I go to the gym twice a week. And on the weekends I like to relax.

Sad, maybe even pathetic, huh?

Interestingly I spend a lot of time with the Lord each day. Except for the commuting where I am spending  my spiritual currency by the handful, and the gym where all I can think of is pain, I have a lot of contact with Jesus. Some days I am up early enough to pray. As soon as I get to work, I turn on soaking music, and at the end of a day at the office, my spirit is alive. I pray a lot while I am doing my work. I enjoy praying in the spirit.

Each night I play my guitar, and use the music to commune with God too. Certain types of music are very meditative for me. It is even possible to prophesy with an instrument, and every so often, I do. (1 Chronicles 25:1)

On Saturday morning I get up and head downstairs to my home-office with a cup of fresh brewed coffee, where I write one or more blogs. (I do four a week). Each Sunday I have about an hours ride to church, and I pray all the the way there. I often pray on the way home too.

When it comes to reading the Bible, between blogging, teaching and writing a book, I do probably a dozen word searches a day, plus I look things up in Greek and Hebrew. I confess I rely on 35 years of past teaching, books, tapes, sermons, Christian Radio and my favorite, the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

I think of daily devotions like I do my marriage to Mary Anne. I plan a few times to be with my wife each week, but more often, I catch her in between the rest of my life. Because I desire to be with her, and she with me, we make the most of a quiet moment in the kitchen, a goodbye kiss, a text message, a phone call or holding hands while watching the news. I don't have a perfect marriage, and I don't have a perfect relationship with Jesus.

I guess in the end, the Lord is on my heart almost every waking hour. I don't know what I would do if I had a job where I couldn't listen to Christian music, but I can always pray wherever I am.

I did a little study of how I spend my own time - sobering.

How about you, are you able to carve out a daily routine with Jesus, or are you like me where you fit him in around everything else?