One thing I always tried to instill in my children’s minds as they grew: you will always find time to do the things that are of most importance to you. Countless were the times one of my three would say something to the effect of, “I don’t have time to do that!” And my response would be the same: “You have time to do what is important to you.”

Every believer in Jesus Christ should take this seriously. I have often heard individuals say that they were too busy to practice the Christian disciplines. They were too busy to pray, or read their Bible, or have a daily quiet time, or complete the daily assignments in a discipleship course, or be involved in any type of ministry, or, or, or… And my response? You guessed it: You will always find time to do the things that are important to you. It is a matter of priority.

We put things on our schedules that are important. Deadlines on the job or in the classroom demand priority in scheduling. Household chores are placed in order of priority, whether written down or mentally embraced. There are things that have to be done, and we make sure time is carved out for their fulfillment.

Why can’t the same be true of the Christian disciplines? Why can’t we schedule time to get alone with God in the closet of prayer, open Bible in hand, open heart to the voice of God. Why can’t we prioritize reading a portion of the Bible every day, and then quietly listen to that still voice of God as He speaks to us through His written word? Why can’t we involve ourselves in discipleship classes which are designed to help us grow deeper in our relationship with God? Why can’t we set aside 30-45 minutes a day to complete the work in those discipleship workbooks?

The answer: a lack of priority. Other things of much less significance take precedence over the more important disciplines that every Christian desperately needs. We need to pray! We need to read the Bible! We need to complete discipleship courses that will facilitate our spiritual growth and development! We need fellowship with other believers in corporate worship! We need to be involved in ministry efforts!

I end each of those statements with an exclamation point to emphasize how important and necessary each of these disciplines are. And each can be practiced by each professing believer, if we only make them priorities in our lives.

You may be thinking, “If he only knew what I have on my plate.” And you are right: I don’t know. But I do know what is on my plate. I’m not going to give a list of my current activities and involvements, but know this, I prioritize my time with God. Nothing short of a dire emergency is going to hinder my daily appointment with Him.

Why? Because of my desire to know Him better, and to learn from His word how I might better serve Him and grow deeper in my fellowship with Him. I can cut out a thirty-minute television program if necessary. I can use my lunch break time to have a brief season of prayer and Bible reading. I can get up 30 minutes earlier to spend that time with God. I can stay up 30 minutes later, after everyone else is in bed, to have that quiet time.

We can make a way. It is all a matter of priority. I will close with how I began: we will always find time to do the things that are of importance to us. How important to you is spending time with God? Why not make it the number one priority in your life and see how God will begin to make Himself more fully known to you. The dividends are truly out of this world!