I believe the key to strength and success in the Christian life is developing the ability to hear from the Lord, and then having the faith to do what He instructs us to do. And yet, as I mentioned in the previous blog on August 3, many Christians tell me, ‘I’ve never heard from the Lord,” or “I rarely ever hear from the Lord.” Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice . . . and they follow Me.” If we are truly Christians, we will want to hear from the Lord. So how do we begin the practice and process of hearing from the Lord?

The first step to hearing from God is establishing a daily time and place for prayer, Bible reading, personal worship, and hearing from God. Unless we purpose to meet with God regularly, we will not. So, do you have a time and place where you meet with the Lord, read the Bible, pray to the Lord, and have opportunity to listen to the Lord?

Daniel in the Old Testament had a time and place to “meet with God.” Daniel 6:10 reads, “When Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” Daniel had a place and time for daily prayer. He prayed in his upper room, facing towards Jerusalem, and he prayed three times a day.

Now, prayer can never be relegated to just one place. Jonah prayed from the belly of a whale. Peter prayed while on a rooftop. Hagar prayed in the wilderness. Paul prayed while he was in jail. And Jesus prayed on a mountaintop and while he was one the cross. Prayer can never be relegated to one place, but it will help our prayer and devotional lives if we have a definite place where we meet with God on an almost daily basis. A “prayer place” in our home or workplace helps us to shut out the distractions of the world and focus on God. Vicki and I have taken one of the rooms in our home and made it a “Prayer Room” – a place where we can meet with the Lord without distractions. You may not be able to have a “Prayer Room” in your home, but you can have a designated place where you meet with God on a daily basis.

Daniel also met with the Lord three times a day. Most of us will not have opportunity to do that in our fast-paced world. However, we can set aside times in the beginning of our day, in the middle of our day (over lunch), or at the end of our day (before we go to bed), to read the Bible, pray, meet with God, and hear from the Lord.

For me, the best time to meet with the Lord is in the early mornings, before anyone else is up. During that time of solitude (after I drink a cup of coffee), I can more easily focus on the Lord, seeking to understand what I read from the Bible, and seeking to connect with Him in prayer. Meeting with God in the morning requires purposely getting up 15, 30 or 60 minutes earlier than we normally would, but it’s well worth our time. I’ve discovered that when I spend time with the Lord in the early mornings, I get far more accomplished during the rest of the day (because I’m living that day in the power of the Lord). I’ve also discovered that I’m a lot nicer to people, and I’m far wiser in my decision-making when I spend time with the Lord early in the mornings. Barclay’s commentary says that “the 1st century Christians spent time with God before they spent time with men,” and I’ve tried to make that the practice of my life as well.

Other Christians use their lunch time break to read the Bible, pray and meet with the Lord, and many others primarily utilize their late night time (just before they go to bed) to read the Bible, pray to the Lord, and hear from the Lord. Although I begin the day with prayer, and pray throughout the day, I like to pray again before I go to sleep at night, even asking the Lord to speak to me through my dreams at night. Someone said, “Hem in both ends of your day with prayer, and it’s less likely to unravel.” That makes a lot of sense to me.

It doesn’t matter what time of the day you set aside to meet with the Lord through worship, Bible reading and prayer – JUST DO IT. Making time for the Lord in your day is the first step to “hearing from God” – and “hearing from God” is the key to strength and success in your life.

Please take time to share with me your schedule for daily Bible reading and prayer.