5 Myths About Spending Time with God You Might be Believing

Kate
6 days ago
5 min read

I remember the feeling. Waking up in the morning tired as can be. Wanting nothing but to go back to sleep. Hoping that God would not be disappointed in my failure to desire to be with Him. I know I need Him. I know I need undistracted time with Him. But sometimes, my motivation is just so low. The thought enters, “My battery just needs to be reset… I’m just tired.” I lay there with my eyes closed for a few more minutes. Soon, I hear God whisper, “I am your rest.”

I hop out of bed as the clock hits 15 minutes past when I ideally should have woken up. But with that thought escaping my mind, I go and meet with God.

This moment, my friend, was me this morning. On this humid Wednesday, I woke up with a bit of a cold and was very tired for the day ahead. A few years back, spending time with God on a day like today would not have happened. I would have taken the time to get ready longer and make my bed rather than meet with God. But I have been opened to the absolute necessity of spending time with God each day, even if some days hold more emotions or contain less "motivation".

If you’re a Christian and have struggled with spending time with God, this blog post is for you. I want to encourage you that the very thing you might feel the most guilty about, not know how to do, or often avoid is the very thing that will change your entire life. I want to unveil some myths you might believe about spending time with God in hopes that you will discover intimacy with God in a deeper way.

MYTH #1: If I didn’t spend time with God today, God is mad at me.

Ahhh, this is quite the theological conundrum, and let me tell you— I used to think this way. To start by addressing this, I want to say that fear of God being angry with you stems from not knowing what Jesus has accomplished on the cross. Jesus bore the wrath of God for humanity. Because we are broken and sinful people, we were estranged from God. We were anything but righteous, and the penalty for this unrighteousness (anything considered beneath God’s standard of perfect holiness is unrighteous) is death. Since we could not become righteous in our own strength, God sent His Son Jesus to die the death we deserved (Romans 6:23). Not only did He die, but He rose again, defeating death, and is seated at the right hand of God. Hallelujah! This is the Gospel!

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” So, since Jesus has borne our sin on the cross, we now receive His righteousness. Here is a bold, but true, statement: every time God looks upon you (if you have received Jesus Christ as Lord), He sees the same righteousness that Jesus Himself has. He gave His righteousness to you! Another hallelujah!

So, if you are feeling guilty or fearful about how God views you because you did not spend time with Him, remember how He sees you. This is no license to sin (Romans 6:1–2), but it should change your perspective. Spending time with God is not an obligation. It is the gift that Jesus has given us— we now have complete access to God through what Jesus has accomplished.

MYTH #2: I’ve already understood everything about a certain passage, so I don’t need to read it again.

This is blatantly false. Our flesh has a way of convincing us that life is more physical than spiritual. While God’s Word is written down, it is not like any other book. Most books you read once or twice and leave it on the shelf. God's Word is daily bread for us and He uses His Word to speak to us every day. May we never feel like we have “arrived” at comprehending the things of God. We must come to Him as children, full of wonder at who He is and what He has done (Matthew 18:3). Search the Scriptures over and over and over and over again until you go to be with the Word Himself :).

MYTH #3: I have to have the perfect setup and “routine” if I am going to spend time with God.

I believed this for a long time. Sadly, our modern-day world has convinced us that everything needs to be aesthetic for it to be worthwhile. Matthew 6 talks about living a life where our righteousness is practiced in secret, not for others to see.

“And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:5–6)

The call is not to have all of the highlighters, the perfect latte, or the 5 a.m. wake-up call. The call is to go in secret and seek God.

MYTH #4: Quantity = Quality

Spending time with God was never meant to be this mindset of all or nothing. If you Christ's you are IN Christ and He is in you! This idea that if we do not have two hours to pray and read Scripture in the morning than we cannot hear God well for the day is false. While I challenge you to check how you are spending your time (ie: if your screentime is 5 hours on Instagram and you cannot seem to make time for God, there is an issue), understand that the point is not the amount of time, the point is being undistracted and raw before the Lord. Fifteen minutes of intimate and vulnerable time with the Lord is better than two hours of distracted time going through the motions.

Do make time for God and do show up whether you feel like it or not. But remain raw. Leave your phone behind. Sit for as long as you can and let God speak.

MYTH #5: Spending time with God is so that God can fix my problems.

We should spend time with God because He is our greatest prize. Spending time with someone is how you get to know them. If you were to go to lunch with a friend just because you knew they would pay for your meal, that would deflate the whole basis of your friendship. Approach God as the One who has brought you from death to life. Praise Him for that daily. Be bold in approaching God with your needs (Hebrews 4:16), but also tell Him you love Him. Thank Him. Pray for others. Sit in silence in His presence. Let Him burden your heart as He desires. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).

No matter what feelings come across when people talk about spending time with God, I want to encourage you that God wants to speak to you, and you can hear His voice. His Spirit is still moving throughout the earth, searching for those whose hearts are completely His (2 Chronicles 16:9). We emphasize spending undistracted time with God so much because Jesus exemplified this. He often went away alone to be with the Father. We need to connect with God in the midst of our fast-paced culture. He teaches us to slow down and rest. He reaches the depths of our hearts and transforms us to become more like Him.