Do you struggle making time for God with a busy schedule? With the million and one things we constantly need to be doing, does it feel like making time for God is just one more thing you need to add to your already full plate.
I mean, the desire’s there to spend time with the Lord, but HOW?
You can barely find time to eat a proper meal, none-the-less carve out time in your day to spend time with Jesus.
The struggle is REAL.
The thing is, making time for God is crucial for our walk with the Lord. Not to mention crucial for our sanity.
So, it’s not-so-much about “having” the time, but about making the time.
Which is why I’m going to show you how you can make time for God, even with a busy schedule. Let’s go!
7 Ways to Make Time for God with a Busy Schedule
My goal with these 7 tips is to show you how to make time for God with a busy schedule in a realistic and practical way.
1. Take a Good Hard Look at Your Schedule
If you feel you have no time to spend with the Lord, then the first thing you should do is to take a good hard look at what you’re currently spending your time doing.
I would encourage you to take an inventory of your average day. Maybe keep a catalogue or diary of what you do every day for an entire week and then assess the results.
Questions to ask yourself:
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- How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?
- What do I do every day?
- Where do I go after work?
- How much time am I spending on social media?
- How much time am I spending watching the news?
- How much time am I spending watching tv or movies?
Then I would ask yourself, “Is there any way you can steal back even 10 minutes so you can spend that time with the Lord?”
10 minutes might not seem like much, but 10 minutes is better than no minutes.
It may take some sacrifice, but even the busiest person can find 10 minutes to spend with the Lord.
When I was working a 9-5 job, I sacrificed eating lunch with my co-workers so I could spend 20 minutes reading my Bible. So, you might have to give something up, but it is possible to squeeze in time if you really want to.
So, my challenge to you is to take a good hard look at your schedule and try to find where you can prioritize more Jesus time into your life.
2. Start Small
Often times when we first commit ourselves to making time for God, we are so ambitious we vow to spend 3 hours every single day in the Word and prayer.
And then that lasts all of 2 days…
One resource I appreciate when it comes to spending time with God is In His Presence by Dennis Fisher. Click here or the image below to check it out!
As admirable as these commitments are, they tend to not last because the trick to making time for God is you want to start off small.
It’s just like New Year’s resolutions.
Everyone and their mom vow this year is the year they’ll finally attain their dream body, which is why every January gyms are flooded with new membership signups.
AND THEN, every year, gym attendance is down my March.
The reason for this is because we get so excited about the amazing changes we want to see in our lives that we get overly zealous, overcommit, lose momentum, and then eventually burn out and stop altogether.
So, when it comes to making time for God, my suggestion is to start small.
Why don’t you start by spending 10 minutes with the Lord every single day, or even just 5 days a week? Then you can expand from there once this new routine becomes a habit.
It’s easier to start small and build your way up then it is to start big and completely lose motivation. Which brings me to my next point…
3. Stick with it so Making Time for God Becomes a Habit
Creating new habits around spending time with the Lord is the golden ticket to making time for God with a busy schedule.
However, new habits take time.
Actually, it’s scientifically proven that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. So, if you’ve just begun your “making time for God” journey and you’re still struggling, keep going!
Once your new routine becomes a habit, spending time with the Lord will be as easy as taking a sip of your morning cup of coffee.
The absolute BEST book on this is Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf. She’s a neuroscientist with over 30 years researching the mind-brain connection AND she’s a Christian. In short, creating healthy habits and renewing your mind is not only a Biblical concept, but is also scientifically proven! Wow.
And honestly, even if it takes you more than 21 days, that’s completely okay.
There will be a point where it becomes easier, and a normal part of your routine.
Once that happens, then you can begin to stretch yourself by bumping up your time with the Lord by increasing the amount of time you’re spending with God every day. It’s great!
4. Choose Quality over Quantity
Something that’s super important when it comes to making time for God is choosing quality over quantity.
Basically, don’t feel forced to do XYZ every single day if you’re not truly absorbing what you’re doing.
For example:
Let’s say you’ve made it a goal to read a chapter of the Bible every single day (which is an admirable goal). However, if you’re just skimming through the Bible and aren’t truly absorbing what you’re learning, then how much have you really gained?
The same goes with prayer.
If you’re not focused during prayer and your mind is constantly wandering, then how much of that time are you truly spending with God?
Our goal should be to spend quality time with the Lord (even if t’s just 5-10 minutes a day) verses spending 30 minutes to an hour of “unfocused” time.
Disclaimer: Now before you start beating yourself up, just know that everyone has off days. Some days will be harder to press in then others, but your goal should be to spend quality time with the Lord daily.
5. Find your Rhythm
This tip might take some trial and error, but that’s okay because that’s the fun part!
When it comes to making time for God, you want to find your rhythm.
I can already hear you, “But Tiffany, what does that mean???!”
It means, try to discover which ways you connect with the Lord THE BEST.
God created us to be unique, and the way we spend time with Him is also unique, which is why we prefer to experience Him in different ways.
I know people who like to stand up and pace while they pray, while I prefer to sit and be still.
No one’s right or wrong, we all just have different preferences when it comes to spending time with the Lord. You should do what feels the most natural to you.
Check out Dennis Fisher’s book, In His Presence for even more info on how to reconnect with God during your quiet time. Click here or the image below to view.
So, here’s some examples of what you can do to find your rhythm:
• Try Bible journaling to help you read and understand the Bible
• Try listening to the Bible while you drive if you struggle reading it
• Try finding some Bible-related podcasts to help you get inspired
• Try following a devotional to help you connect with the Lord
• Try walking while you pray versus sitting
• Get outside and spending time in nature to help you connect with the Lord
• Try putting on worship music and setting the atmosphere before spending time with God
• Try praying out loud versus praying in your head
As you can see, there’s no “right way” to spend time with the Lord, it just depends on what works best for you. And that’s what we’re trying to find, what’s your preferred way to connect with Jesus so that making time for God becomes natural and easy for you.
By “trying on” some of these new ways of spending time with the Lord, you will shortly realize what does and does not work for you so you can develop your own rhythm.
This way, making time for God will become something you look forward to every day, instead of a chore.
6. Spend Time with God in the Morning
Try dedicating your mornings to spending time with God. I’ll admit that this bit of advice might not work for everyone, but I do think you should give it a try because it definitely works for a lot of people.
And it definitely works for me. 🙂
However, I didn’t start making time for God in the morning until I started working out in the morning.
You see, I wanted to start working out regularly, but I quickly realized that unless I prioritized it for first thing in the morning it wouldn’t happen.
I kept finding that when I planned to work out in the evening, random distractions and other things just kept popping up. I needed to get groceries, run an errand, take a phone call, make dinner, or I just simply was tired and didn’t want to.
Sound familiar…?
However, when I prioritized my workout for first thing in the morning, I always accomplished them because I eliminated any excuses.
The same is true for making time for God.
If I held off on spending time with the Lord until the evening, other tasks always came up that screamed for my attention. However, my mornings were always reliable.
Plus, once I made spending time with God in the morning a routine, I found that I really looked forward to those precious moments of quiet and peace before beginning my day.
I found that I loved starting my day off right by digging into the Word of God while sipping my morning cup of coffee. 🙂
7. Mindset Shift!
Last but not least, sometimes you just need a mindset shift. For some of you, you know you could make more time in your schedule to spend time with the Lord, but the real problem is…you just don’t want to.
Perhaps the reason for this is because making time for God has started to feel like drudgery, and your relationship with the Lord is lackluster to say the least.
Need help spicing up your time with the Lord? Check out Dennis Fisher’s book, In His Presence! Click here or below to check it out!
The truth is, you’re bored and you’re tired of reading the same verse over-and-over again without any new revelation. Your prayers are starting to sound the same, and you just don’t see the point anymore when there’s so many other things you could be doing.
If this is you, don’t feel ashamed. We’ve all been there.
When my mindset around spending time with the Lord starts to take a turn for the worst, I take a step back and remind myself exactly who it is that I am spending time with.
Who is God?
• He’s the Creator of the universe
• He’s the Savior of my soul
• He loves me unconditionally
• He knows me better than I even know myself
• He cares deeply about every detail of my life
• He’s a God of beauty, majesty, and wonder – endlessly creative and exciting
When I take a moment to remember who God is, and why making time for Him is important to me, I remember what an absolute honor and privilege it is to know Him.
Spending time with Jesus is an honor, not an obligation.
God is freaking amazing, and the fact that I can talk to Him whenever I want is a true gift.
All of a sudden, my mindset changes from, “I have to spend time with God” to “I get to spend time with God.”
That’s when everything re-aligns for me and making time for God feels fresh and exciting again.
I begin to wonder:
• What is God going to show me today?
• What new thing can I discover about Him that I didn’t know before?
• In what ways is God going to reveal Himself to me this week?
• How is God going to show me He loves me today?
It’s important to remember that making time for God is partaking in a relationship. It’s not something you do to check it off your to-do list.
The Song of Solomon compares our relationship with the Lord to a romantic relationship between a husband and wife.
Just like it’s important to prioritize a romantic relationship in order to keep the romance alive, we need to prioritize our time with Jesus in order to keep the romance alive between us and our Creator. 🙂
So, if you’re getting bored or finding it difficult to make time for God, be honest with Him and tell Him you’re struggling. Ask the Lord to reveal to you how to keep things fresh and exciting so your quiet time with Him doesn’t feel like work but is something you look forward to.
Our relationship with Jesus is the number one relationship in our life, so let’s treat it that way! Sometimes relationships take work and require a sacrifice, but the reward for knowing our Heavenly Father will always be greater than anything He ever asks us to give up.
More Resources on How to Make Time for God with a Busy Schedule
Now that you have some tips on how to make time for God with a busy schedule, you might be wondering how you can use your carved out time with the Lord THE BEST.
I’ve found that goal-oriented Bible studies and courses keep me the most focused and engaged. That way I can learning more about who God is, and thus who I am in Christ, and apply Jesus’ teachings into my life.
My signature course, Passport from Heaven does exactly that!
In it I do a deep dive on what the Bible says about your identity in Christ, and how knowing these truths will quite literally change your life. As you can tell, I am very passionate about it. If you’re interested, click here to check it out!
Bible Study Resources!
To help get you started in reading your Bible and spending time with Jesus, I’ve put together some of my favorite Bible study tools that have really helped me in understanding the Word of God:
Favorite Bibles and Commentaries:
Favorite Books and Devotionals:
Bible Journaling Supplies:
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- Dual Tip Brush Highlighters (they don’t bleed!)
- Colorful Sticky Notes (I’m a big fan of the color scheme in their Bali Collection)
- Bible Tabs (Rose colored)
- Washi Tape
- Bible Journaling Collection Set
Read More
The 10 Most Accurate Bible Translations
Bible Overview: Summary of the Entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation
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Have more questions about making time for God with a busy schedule? Let me know in the comments below!
I love this article! Your articles made my day and I gotta say….I’m so excited to find out what your next post is….. I desire to make crucial changes in my life while starting small with simple baby steps…..I love everything about this site and community… I’m so thrilled into having to see and meet all of our family in this Christian blog
Thanks for these brilliant ideas. I hope everybody will read this content. It will help us to manage our time and still make time to be with god. Excellent post, indeed!
No matter how busy we are, we should make time for God. That is the least we can do for all the love and sacrifices he gave us.