There have been so many times in my life where spending any length of time in God’s presence has had a huge impact on my life. Whether it be at the end of a very busy and hectic day, spending some time getting direction and clarification or even just to hear His soothing voice of love and encouragement.

Ever since my teenage years, I have always longed to spend time with Him in a quiet place to hear what He has got to say to me. Over the years this has taken different forms and involved different aspects of what I do. But the essence of seeking Him is still the same. I long to hear His voice and be with Him.

I was reflecting on the time when I started dating Linda (who is now my wife). I was so in love with her, that I wanted to be with her all the time. I wanted to hear her voice and chat with her. This sense of wanting to be with her and hear her stemmed from a place of love. My desire to be with God stems from a place of love, but in a much greater way. As I have received love from God, I am able to pour it out in an ever greater way back to God. As I spend time with Him, He is able to transform me and change me in so many different ways. The more I spend with Him the more I receive and the more I give back to Him. It all starts with Him.

Ways to spend time

My times with God change and often go through seasons. There may be seasons where I pick up my guitar and use that as a tool to pour out my heart towards God. As I play the chords I express my heart to Him, probably like what David did. At some point in time, I stop singing and simply strum the chords, but I switch into a place of listening for what He wants to say.

There have been other times where I have used the psalms as a launching platform to spend time with Him. I open up a psalm and after reading it a number of times, I use the key parts of it as a way to pray to God. Once again I get to a point where I stop speaking and wait on Him.

About 14 years, Linda and I moved to Toronto, Canada, for a few years. It was at Toronto we learnt another way to spend time with God. The method is called ‘soaking’. The idea was a simple one. You put some quiet instrumental music on, you lie down and you still yourself to be in His presence. Like a sponge put into water, you ‘soak’ in His presence and get filled up with Him. The first couple of times felt a bit unusual, but I quickly realised the vast benefits of spending time with Him like this. As I put aside all my agendas I was able to still my heart and mind and focus on Him. Numerous times a greater sense of peace would overcome me. God would frequently speak to me. Sometimes a few words from Him would cause powerful changes in my life. Other times He would say sentences where I would have to write down in my journal. Other times I would get visions and I would pick up a pencil and draw them in my journal. In every case, God will speak to me everything I needed at that moment in my life. I would come away changed and refreshed.

Many of the techniques I learnt all those years ago I still do to this day.

So I thought I’d put some ideas down to help you spend some time with God.

5 minutes

• Find a quiet and comfortable space. This could be in your favourite chair. You could lie on the floor with a pillow behind your head. It’s preferable not to lie on your bed as you could easily fall asleep!

• You could put on some soft and quiet instrumental music or do it without.

• Close your eyes and picture in your mind the cross. This will help you to avoid distracting thoughts.

• As you breathe out say one of these words: Father, Jesus or Holy Spirit.

• You will find that as you focus on the cross and your words proclaim an aspect of who God is, that you will start to become still.

• After a few minutes, you can stop speaking and instead just be ready for anything that God might show you or speak to you.

15 minutes

• Get a piece of paper and a pen ready.

• Find a quiet and comfortable space. This could be in your favourite chair. It’s preferable not to lie on your bed as you could easily fall asleep. You could lie on the floor with a pillow behind your head.

• Pick a few instrumental worship songs to play during this time. As the songs play you can focus on the cross or focus on some aspect of the nature of God.

• As the music plays be quiet and just allow His presence to overwhelm you. He may speak to you or may show you a vision about what He wants to say.

• When the songs finish, just wait in the stillness for anything else God wants to say.

• Record anything God says in a journal to reflect on later.

45 minutes

• Get a piece of paper and a pen ready.

• Open up one of the psalms. There are 150 to choose from. Read through the psalm either out loud or quietly.

• Then go back and read each line again. After each line, stop and meditate what the line is saying. Is it possible to use that line as a prayer to God? Can you declare something about God’s nature from that line? When finished go onto the next line and so on until you finish the psalm.

• Now we are going switch into a time of being still. Follow the steps mentioned in the above 15-minute section, but this time choose more songs to play. Again write anything down that God shows you.

• Because God will show you different things on different days, what happens next will depend on what God shows you. You could use what God has shown you to draw or paint a picture of the revelation He has shown you. You could write a poem or even a song of what God has revealed to you. This will help to cement what God has done during this time.