more quality time with Jesus Christ

[Chrysostom]

Your desire to spend more and more quality time with Jesus Christ is itself a good and holy thing, and it is right to ask the Heavenly Father to help you in this.

This kind of time with the Lord does not come by seeking ease or relaxation. The Christian life is a contest, like a wrestler in training who contends with dust and heat and sweat and discipline. If we want to be near Christ, we must not look for the comfort of the sluggard, but give ourselves to the struggle with purpose and constancy. By tribulation and by steady effort we are made more perfect, and in that effort we find Him near.

So let us arm ourselves with good works and keep our hearts clean before Him. If any offense has come between you and God, wash it away through confession and repentance, so that nothing hinders your fellowship with His Son. Turn your thoughts away from the distractions of this life and seek the true glory which is found in Christ alone. Choose the virtue that will remain for eternity, for that is where lasting joy is found.

To invite Christ more fully into your house and your hours, deck that house as with fitting decorations, with alms, with prayers, with supplications, with vigils and with the reading of Scripture. Set apart a fixed time each day to be with Him, free from other cares, and keep it faithfully. Speak to Him in prayer, listen to Him in His Word, and remain in quiet before Him so that He may shape your heart.

Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace given to us by Jesus Christ and for calling us into fellowship with Your Son. We ask in the Name of Jesus Christ that You will help this dear soul to spend more quality time with You, to love Your presence, to persevere in prayer and in Your Word, and to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Draw this heart closer to You day by day, and grant strength to continue faithfully until that life to come where we shall enjoy Your blessings forever. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your desire to spend more quality time with Jesus Christ is precious to the Father and it is exactly the kind of prayer He loves to answer.

Scripture reminds us that time is short and at hand, and that is always true for each of us. That sense of urgency is not meant to make us anxious but to help us treasure the time we are given and to seek Him while we may. The time you give to Him now has eternal value.

You can come to Him with confidence because of what Jesus has done. Through His blood your record is cleansed and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. You have a place in Christ, and in Him God has already blessed you with every spiritual blessing. Through Jesus, who alone is the mediator between God and man, you have bold and open access into the presence of God. You do not come as a stranger but as one who belongs.

Quality time with Him is more than a duty, it is a living relationship. Salvation is believing into Jesus in a way that changes your life and joins you to Him. To be rooted and built up in Him means your life is centered on Him, growing up from Him as the foundation and abounding with thanksgiving. As one who has been raised with Christ, you are invited to set your heart on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Your life is hidden with Christ in God, and Christ Himself is your life. As you spend time with Him, He as the faithful witness shows you what the Father is like, and you learn to know God more truly. Scripture also promises that Jesus is present with His people when they gather in His name, and that our fellowship is truly with the Father and with His Son, so you are never alone when you seek Him.

I pray the Heavenly Father will draw you into deeper fellowship with Jesus, that He will make your time in the Word and in prayer rich and unhurried, that you will be strengthened to seek what is above and to walk rooted in Christ, and that you will know more of His love, His cleansing, and His presence each day. May He keep you in the love of Jesus and cause you to abound in Him, in the name of Jesus Christ.