3 Key Takeaways On Time With God: A Conversation On Practicing Presence
In a world that is in such a hurry, easily distracted, and endlessly striving for achievement, consumption, and fame, practicing presence feels unfamiliar. God’s invitation to you, however, is to follow his lead, live at his pace, and show up with unhurried presence to the people around you. Here’s a conversation on practical ways to do this:
Inspired by Blessing’s learnings, here are 3 key takeaways of setting intentional time to connect with God:
It Becomes A Lifestyle: As a pharmacy technician, Blessing is used to living at a rushed pace. As she committed a week to exploring this practice of presence, she made it practical by setting multiple alarms throughout her day to help her stay committed! At the end of the week, she found it more of a habit. Instead of making space for it, she found that that being present made space for her to daily connect with God in intentional ways.
It Invites Your Intentionality: Blessing reflects, “What I learned this week was just definitely how needed it is. It doesn’t seem like we need that time with God because our God is omnipresent, but sometimes, not really stopping and sitting with him, the connection gets lost and the way you hear God and receive God gets muddy.” A busy life can be one of the greatest excuses to skip unhurried time with God. What in your calendar needs to change to make space for God?
It Keeps You Relational: As a working, single mom, Blessing knows what it’s like to “[hold my] breath, ready for the next thing.” Practicing presence with God helped her take a deep breath and experience the peace and rest that comes from being with God, which then helps her be with others better. How does your pace need to adjust so that you can show up well for others?
When it comes to exploring new practices, the most important thing is to know your why. Or better yet, to discover the who - who is the person you’re becoming in the direction of who Jesus is?