The Struggle

As children of God, we all know it is important to have a daily relationship with God. We know that spending time in prayer and Bible reading each day is vital for keeping our spiritual lives healthy and growing. Yet how many of us can truly say we spend time with God daily? Not just time with God but unrushed time with God. I would answer, I try but do not always succeed. The psalmist writes, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11, NKJV).

We all want to spend time in God’s presence, receive His joy, and follow the path He shows us. But how do we keep our appointment with God each day when life is so full and we are pulled in many directions by family, work, or friends? Yes, I can find time, but it is mostly rushed time. When I think of someone who followed God well, I think of Enoch. The Bible says he walked with God and was so close to Him that God took him from Earth.

Can you imagine the conversations he had with God? At one time, I envied Enoch. After all, what did he have to do? Most likely, his wife cleaned the house, cooked the meals, and looked after the children, so he could spend a lot of quality time with his Father.

But is that a true assumption? Now, I think that like all men of his time, Enoch had to work to feed his family and provide for their needs, maybe in the fields or with cattle; the Bible does not say. But I am sure he did not sit idly each day just talking with God.

So how did he have such a close walk with God? Ellen G. White writes, “Brethren, pray at home, in your family, night and morning; pray earnestly in your closet; and while engaged in your daily labor, lift up the soul to God in prayer. It was thus that Enoch walked with God.”* How do I find unrushed time each day to spend with God? I make sure I begin each day with prayer. I may not have time in the morning to study my Bible, but I will make time during my day to do that, whether during my lunch at work or in the evening before bed, when I remove all distractions and focus on Jesus. That time alone with God gives me great joy.

Heather-Dawn Small (deceased)

* Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home (Washington, DC: Review and Herald®, 1980), 213.