In many Christian circles, believers are encouraged to have a “quiet time”. This is time set aside to devote to your relationship with God. It is time used to pray – talking and listening to our Lord. It is time spent learning more about Him and His purpose for your life. It is time spent studying the Bible and other Christian books and devotionals. It is “private” time, usually away from family, friends and outside distractions. Usually, this means no television, no radio, no MP-3 players, no computers – just you and God.

For years, I never really made time for this. Honestly, it wasn’t stressed much during my upbringing, neither at home or at church. The idea began to gain interest only later in my Christian walk, but then it was a matter of finding the time and place in my busy schedule for this “quiet” time. Of course, that was, as in nearly all cases, just an excuse. Of course I could find the time … IF I really, really wanted to do this.

After many aborted attempts, I finally made the commitment to do this, and settled on a time and place. For me, this is every morning shortly after waking. I first handle two VERY important tasks:

1) Feeding and taking my hyper-active dachshund Ranger outside so he can do his “business”. If I failed to do this, I would have yet another task to attend to; namely, cleaning up the floor!

2) Preparing my wife’s coffee. If I failed to do this, the morning would not be nearly as pleasant!

Then, I head down to my office and spend time in God’s Word, reading and contemplating the lessons being taught. I also read a few sections and devotionals from several books, including Men of Integrity and Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment (both Volumes 1 & 2). Sometimes, there are a few other books from which I also read a section. I conclude this time in prayer and conversation with God.

Let me tell you, I have grown to treasure this time spent alone in contemplation of and conversation with our mighty God. This time has helped me grow tremendously in my faith and my understanding of His love and purposes for me. It has helped me get things off my chest, plead for understanding, confess my failures and sins, and praise Him for all of the blessings He has showered upon me and my family. I have grown SO much closer to Him, and hopefully am becoming more and more what He wants me to become.

Now where is this entry leading? In one of the devotionals I recently read from Grace for the Moment, Max Lucado spotlighted the message contained in Hebrews 11: 6:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

The King James version of the Bible translates this passage as “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”

Did you catch that? God rewards those that diligently seek Him. What does it mean to be diligent? Webster’s New World dictionary declares diligent to mean “done with careful, steady effort; painstaking; persevering.” Being diligent means making a consistent, dedicated, and unswerving effort to achieve a goal. It means avoiding distraction and pursuing a task or goal with zeal and persistence. It means being dedicated.

Hebrews 11: 6 tells us that God rewards those who “diligently seek Him”. Are you being diligent in your search? Are you honestly devoting a significant amount of your time and effort to learning more about Him and in conversation with Him? Are you setting aside the time each and every day to read and study His Word (aka, the Bible)? Are you setting aside time throughout the day to talk with Him (aka, prayer)? Are you setting aside time to read and learn from other believers (aka, books from Christian authors)? Are you diligently seeking Him?

I know the excuses … I’ve used most of them. There’s no time. I work long hours, then to come home and spend time with my spouse and children. I have chores to do at home. The grass needs cutting. The bathroom faucet is leaking. The dog piddled on the carpet. My daughter’s band concert is tonight. I have to attend the PTA meeting at school. My son’s baseball game is tonight. We have a class at church I must attend. “Dancing with the Stars” is on television. Etc., etc., etc. The list could go on and on and on. Are all of these things important? You betcha. Are any of them more important than building your relationship with God? Nope … not one of them.

Let’s face it … we are all busy and sometimes fitting anything else in our schedule seems impossible. But let’s be honest: isn’t it a matter of priority? Isn’t amazing that we always find time to watch our favorite television program or read the latest book from our favorite author, yet can never seem to find the time to spend with God? What does that say about our priorities? Where does God fall on our “Things to Do” list?

I do know that God is crystal clear on the position He is to occupy: He is to be Number One.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” -- Matthew 6: 33

How about this passage, which may seem harsh to many:

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” – Matthew 10: 37

These and other passages throughout the Bible make it absolutely clear that God is to be our number one priority. He is not saying that we should ignore family, friends and other matters, but that we should make sure God occupies the very top position on our priorities list. He deserves and demands our attention, our love, and our devotion. Don’t be the person warned about in the Book of Revelation:

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”— Revelation 3: 15-16

Whoa! I don’t want God to spit me out of His mouth! I cannot imagine the despair and horror of suffering such a fate. I cannot imagine eternity separated from Him and His love.

I issue this challenge: make God a priority in your life. Make Him more than just a Sunday item. Give Him more than just lip-service. Establish a time each and every day to spend time with Him … JUST him. Set aside time with Him to read, pray, talk and listen. Don’t let outside pressures or occurrences intrude on this time. Close the door, and turn off the computer, cell phone, TV and radio. Concentrate solely on the Lord and His teachings. Make this top-priority, quality time with the Lord. Do this with fervor, enthusiasm, persistence and diligence. Do this and you will grow closer to the Lord and become more and more the person God wants you to be. Can you think of a better New Year’s resolution?