Spending (quality) Time with the Lord
Spending time with the Lord is a worthy goal. Spending quality time with the Lord is even better. “Really,” says an inquisitive mind, “what’s the difference?” Good question, I’m glad you asked it.
Relationships are built in many ways, but “time” is a primary ingredient. Time to relationships, is like water to a flower, no matter what else we do right, without water a flower won’t grow; and “quality time” is like Miracle Grow plant food, it helps the flower thrive. Water and plant food used correctly work wonders with a flower.
If we want to work wonders in our relationship with our Father in Heaven, there are things we can do.
Spending time with the Lord would include daily applications of the following:
1. Prayer
2. Reading the Scriptures
3. Keeping the commandments
4. Serving others
If we sincerely apply these four things consistently, we will draw near to the Lord and will have His spirit to be with us.
Spending quality time with the Lord, in my view, would include all the above but would include two additional ingredients:
1. Boldness
2. Keep a journal
Boldness and confidence go hand in hand. I feel it is appropriate to ask our Heavenly Father for manifestations of His spirit to bless our lives. I suggest that in meekness, we boldly ask the Lord for what we need. In my estimation one of the greatest needs each of us has is to fulfill our baptismal covenant and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This should be the subject of our prayers everyday. Ask Heavenly Father to give us this great gift and explain to him what we are doing, and willing to do in order to receive this gift. This is where a journal comes in. We can write down in our journal those things we discuss with the Lord while in prayer and then record our experiences as they unfold.
The great challenge in receiving answers to our prayers can come in telling the difference between our own thoughts and feelings and those that come by way of the Spirit. George Q. Cannon expressed it his way:
…there is one thing that we have all got to be very careful about, and that is this: I have seen Elders in my experience that when they got their own spirit moved very much they imagined that it was the Spirit of God, and it was difficult in some instances to tell the difference between the suggestions of their own spirit and the voice of the spirit of God. This is a gift of itself, to be able to distinguish that which suggests itself to our own hearts and that which comes from God. And we are misled sometimes by our own feeling, because of our inability to distinguish between the voice of the Spirit of God and the suggestions of our own spirit. JD 22:98
Notice that Elder Cannon says it is a gift to be able to distinguish that which comes from God and that which is in our own hearts and mind. This is a gift we all need. It is the gift of discernment. Will this gift come upon us by asking for it a few times? It might, but will it remain with us? In my own life I continually pray for this gift. I have also fasted and prayed for the gifts of the Spirit. Over the years as I have done this I have received many manifestation of the Spirit including the gift of discernment. Has it manifest itself in perfection in my life? No, I’m not perfect.
The Lord can answer our prayers in many ways. Some of the answers to our prayers are such that we don’t need the gift of discernment. For example, if we receive a dream in answer to our prayers and it is fulfilled soon thereafter, or should a voice speak to us in answer to our prayers, then we know it is from the Lord.
Last but not least, is the quality of persistence, which is part of being bold. Don’t give up on obtaining an answer from the Lord. Learn how the Lord deals with His people. This is done by reading and praying about the scriptures. Write down your feelings in your journal as you read the scriptures, and remember that the accounts in the scriptures can be duplicated in your life. The Lord gave us the scriptures for that very purpose.
To see some of the invitations contained in the scripture go here and type in the word “cry”, for example, and search in the Book of Mormon (you might want to try using the various options for searching). Searching through these scripture will give you some very fine examples of how the Lord deals with those who seek Him.
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