Why Is Spending Time With God So Hard?

One of the biggest challenges we face as Christians is finding ways to spend more time with God. Although our souls hunger and thirst for Jesus, making quality time for God often eludes us. In this article, you’ll learn why we struggle and why spending time with God is more important than you think!

What Matters Most To You In Life?

When you think of the things that matter most to you in life – the things that you cannot imagine living without – what immediately comes to mind?

Chances are your family, friends and pets made the top of your list!

Now think about how you structure your days. Even when your job is demanding… even when your kids vie for your attention… even when you feel drained… don’t you still find time to converse with your spouse, touch base with your bestie, and care for your furry purry family members?

What the Bible says is true. We make time for the things that matter most to us.

For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
– Matthew 6:21 NKJV

What do you treasure most in your life?

Where Does God Fit Into The Picture?

Now think about your relationship with God. Jesus said:

“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.”
– Matthew 22:37 NKJV

Doesn’t it follow that if you love God wholeheartedly, He should play an integral role in your life?

In her book The Writing Life, Annie Dillard says:

“How we spend our days is, of course,
how we spend our lives.”
     – Annie Dillard

Take a moment to determine what role God plays in your life. Ask yourself these important questions:

• Where does God rank on my list of priorities?
• Where does Jesus fit into my daily schedule?
• Is my love for the Lord reflected in the way I spend my time?

If you’re satisfied with how well you’re prioritizing your time and your relationship with God, kudos! Keep doing what you’re doing. Stay the course.

However, if you could use a little help in this area, we’ve got good news: You’re in the right place!

You are not alone in this struggle. We all feel the tension between the tug of the world and the yearning to be close to Jesus. We’re here to help.

Most Christians love God yet struggle to consistently spend time reading His Word. In their introduction to the NIV Student Bible. editors Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford observe:

“In surveys, Christians often admit to guilt about not reading the Bible consistently. They believe in the Bible and expect to find help there. Yet they do not read it nearly as often as they think they should.”

Why is this such a universal problem?

Why Do We Struggle To Spend Time With God?

The Bible says that the primary reason we struggle is that we have a spiritual adversary – Satan – who does everything in His power to keep us away from God and His Word.

C.S, Lewis understood the battle we face. In his classic allegory The Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape teaches his nephew Wormwood how to keep believers from growing spiritually. Screwtape’s advice to Wormwood provides tremendous insight into the nature of our spiritual struggles:

“Don’t let him open the Enemy’s book.
Have him think he’s not feeling spiritual enough. Suggest that it’s too complicated.
Tell him he’s too tired.
Be vigilant —
five minutes of prayerful reading
can set him back months.”
– C.S. Lewis,
The Screwtape Letters

A work of fiction does not carry the weight of Scripture. However, Christian authors often use their writing to illuminate spiritual truths. In this passage, Lewis sheds light on three powerful truths:

• Satan views God as his Enemy.
• Satan identifies the Bible – God’s revelation to us – as the Enemy’s book.
• Satan and his minions will do anything to keep us far away from both!

Satan does not want us to read our Bible because it reveals who God is (the Spirit of Truth) versus who he is (the father of lies). He distracts us during our quiet time because he doesn’t want us to discover the biblical blueprint for resisting his wicked schemes.

How Does The Enemy Attack Our Time With God?

What are some of the primary ways that Satan tries to prevent us from regularly meeting with God?

• First, Satan distracts us with the cares of the world. He is so masterful at keeping us focused on lesser things that often, we forget to make time with God a priority.
• Then, he does everything in his power to make us feel like we’re too busy or too tired to read God’s Word.
• Finally, he burdens us with guilt. He uses his persuasive lies to make us feel bad for not doing the very things we want to do!

Satan uses every trick possible to keep us from reading the Bible because he knows it contains truths like Romans 8:1 that can set us free:

There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to the flesh,
but according to the Spirit.
– Romans 8:1 NKJV

Think about the days when you’ve felt the most resistance to spending time with God. In retrospect, aren’t those the days that you needed to hear from Him the most?

Spending time with God and reading His Word is essential to our spiritual growth. It’s also one of the primary ways we battle our enemy.

Whenever you hear a voice tempting you to put off reading your Bible until tomorrow, fight back!

Dig deep into the Word, which contains everything you need to know to resist Satan and live a spiritually fruitful life.

How Can We Fight Back?

The Apostle Paul gives clear instructions on how we can arm ourselves against the enemy in Ephesians 6:10-18:

Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.
– Ephesians 6:11 NKJV

James, the half-brother of Jesus, also instructs us on how to spiritually fight:

Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and
he will flee from you.
– James 4:7 NKJV

Establishing a consistent quiet time routine and regularly reading the Bible prepares us for battle.

Prioritizing God and His Word enables us to stand, resist and fight.

Join us and commit to putting the Word before the world!

Share Your Thoughts

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to spending time with God? How are you overcoming it?

Please leave a comment so that we can encourage one another and help each other grow!