Creating space for God: The spiritual discipline that changes everything

God — He who chose us before we existed, He who wrote our names in the Lamb’s book of life, He who loves us with an unimaginably rich love — He is the one who created space for us when He created the world.

And now this infinite, omnipotent God invites us into His very throne room, to talk and listen. He invites us to feast on His word and experience His love, guidance, wisdom — His very character.

All this is what Christians sometimes call, very inadequately, a “quiet time.” Or perhaps, even less descriptively, “devotions.” But we can be devoted to anything. We can be quiet at any time. And many non-Christians understand the benefit of taking a time of quiet contemplation. But what we are talking about here is so much more.

Our perspective is too small

Our perspective is too small on this time with God that all Christians are encouraged to undertake. It lends itself to becoming a to-do list item, and when it’s a to-do list item, our tendency is to check it off as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Read today’s devotional thought, check. Grab our prayer list, check check. Read the prescribed number of Bible verses or chapters, check check check. (Have you ever finished reading and realized you don’t know what you just read because your mind was elsewhere?)

We need a clearer picture, and the book of Hebrews provides corrective lenses to help us see better.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

The Creator God of the universe, who sent His Son to turn the world right again, who loved us while we were still sinners — that living God invites us to spend time with Him, to worship Him, to know Him better. Our God, who is a consuming fire, tenderly invites us to approach Him with confidence — so that He can pour out on us mercy (not giving us what we deserve) and grace (giving us good things we don’t deserve).

This is amazing.

There are countless good works we could be doing, that indeed He calls us to do — serving Him, sharing His gospel, loving our neighbor — and certainly a significant amount of our time and attention should be directed to that kingdom work.

But we cannot do those things properly without time with Him, the most foundational “good work” we do.

Jesus’ example

As He did for everything, Jesus of course shows us the way here. The Bible says He regularly made time to seek out His Father, sometimes at great length (all night, for example). Why did He do this?

We get a clue from the story of the woman who was healed merely by touching the hem of his garment. Remember, the crowds were pressing in on Him from all around, and yet He knew someone had been healed. How did he know?

But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I knew that power had gone out of Me” (Luke 8:46).

When Jesus met a need, it literally took something out of Him. And He met a lot of needs. A lot. We can’t even begin to imagine the toll this might have taken on His humanity, day after day, crowds all around, individuals clamoring for just a touch, just a word, just something to meet their needs.

This is surely why the gospels record Jesus withdrawing so many times, heading to a lonely place to get alone with His Father and to be filled back up.

Likewise, when you meet a need, it will take something out of you, too. If the only man who ever lived who also happened to be God — if that man needed to be filled back up again regularly with strength from the Spirit, how much more do we need it?

Creating space for the living God to fill

I love the way author Kristi McLelland puts it in her Bible study "The Gospel on the Ground." She says she intentionally “creates space for the living God to fill” during her first-thing-in-the-morning daily walks with her dog.

“Creating space in your life for the living God to fill” — it’s a bit longer than the phrase “quiet time,” but it so much more effectively captures the reality of the invitation from our King to His beloved children. Perhaps “God time” would be the best shortcut. God time. What a privilege! What an honor! What joy!

To create this space, you need intentional time and place, a bit of planning, and a commitment to immerse yourself in His Word.

Here are some suggestions.

1. Start well to end well.

Give Him the first moments upon waking, even if that means it’s just a tiny sliver of time to start.

Pro tip: Do not pick up your phone until you’ve thanked God for granting you another day. And how much better is it, do you think, to start with His word, as opposed to doom-scrolling news and checking email, messages, or social media?

So if that phone does get picked up, are you disciplined enough to only open your Bible app and save all that other stuff for later?

Also, the heavens declare the glory of God. It’s amazing to experience sunrise while mindfully worshipping Him.

2. Encounter God in Scripture.

If you appreciate the feel of a Bible or book in your hand, consider author Sally Clarkson’s recommendation to create a container or basket for your God time with your Bible, notebook, commentaries or other Bible tools, and various devotional books or other spiritually oriented books you want to read.

Each day you can decide what to focus on — it doesn’t have to be the same thing each day.

However, it is helpful to our goal of gaining biblical knowledge and literacy to always be working your way through a book of the Bible, so that you’re absorbing Scripture in context. And if your church is studying one of the Bible books on Sunday mornings or in a weekly Bible study, you should certainly be reading that one in your time, too. Mindful, repetitive reading helps you really grasp a book’s message and provides necessary context, as opposed to little snippets or verses taken on their own.

3. Schedule specific times.

It can be all first thing in the morning, or you can schedule “God time” throughout your day.

For example, you could have a morning time and an evening time, even a midday break time, with different emphases on each. Perhaps your morning time is focused on prayer and meditating on His attributes. This might also lend itself to a morning walk, like Kristi McLelland described. A second time could be digging into His word. You could have a time each day when you simply meditate on one Psalm.

Ask Him how he wants you to create this space in your life right now. Build it into your schedule and routine.

4. Ask Him where this time should be.

Should some of it be physically on the move? For when you’re not on the move, you need to create or find a place where you will be undisturbed and as free of distractions as possible.

This could be inside your home, outside, in a coffee shop — whatever works for you and Him. I do think it’s particularly uplifting to be outside surrounded by God’s glorious creation when you’re spending time with Him. How wonderful if you’re near a beach or forest, but a park or your back patio is great, too!

If some of your God time is physically active (like a walk or riding an exercise bike), you can pray, meditate on Him, listen to Him, or (thank you technology) listen to His word, worship music, Bible teaching, or memory verses.

When you’re not moving, say "no, thank you" to technology. I love a good Bible app; I do a lot of reading of any kind on my phone. And I certainly prefer writing on my computer to paper and pen. But for this God time, a physical Bible and a notebook and pen may be best. Distractions are the devil’s favorite tool to derail this time, so protect it with good practices that work for you.

How about a short walk or sitting outside at sunset to thank Him for the day He gave you?

It’s wonderful if the last thoughts you have each day can be centered on Him, before you drift off to sleep.

Embrace God’s blessing

Above all, those good practices include reminding ourselves — often — of the bigger picture of what this time is. It is a privilege. It is a blessing. It is sacred. Don’t let it devolve into a checklist item.

Renew your mind regularly to the truth that our Creator God, who sent His Son to turn the world right again, who loved us while we were still sinners — that living God invites us to spend time with Him, to worship Him, to know Him better. Because this time is not about reading a verse and hoping for a divine zap of “how this applies to ME” — but it is about knowing Him, a little better every day.

May the Holy Spirit ignite our hearts to eagerly accept this unfathomably gracious invitation.

This article was adapted from an essay originally published on Diane Schrader's Substack, "She Speaks Truth."