Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  John 15:4 NIV

Greetings, ladies! I have to tell you that this devotional topic jumped out at me and begged me to “write, write, write!” Are there any of you out there who freeze in their tracks when it comes to having quiet time with the Lord? If I were not typing right now, I would be raising my hand!

Multiple books have been written on the topic. Believe me, I probably own most, if not all, of them. Why is it that we stress out about spending time with God? Here are a few of my thoughts:

1. We do not know where to start

2. We are exhausted because of our massive to-do lists (you should see all of mine!!) and

3. We are afraid that we will not do it right

You know what, sisters? I think all this stress comes from the enemy messing with us. The last thing he wants is for us to spend time with our Lord.

He does not want us to hear from Him. He does not want us to memorize His Word. The enemy would be kicking up his heels in glee if we just go through our days without God. I honestly believe that freezes us from just simply hanging out with the Lord.

I took my fears to Him about this, and He lovingly assured me through His Holy Word that He just wants us to abide in Him. I have to admit – that sounded scary to me. Scary in that “What if I do not follow the correct way to have a quiet time?” I cannot tell you how many times that keeps me from starting my day with the Lord.

What if I do not pray for everyone in my life? What if I do not be quiet for the allotted amount of time? What is the right order that I should conduct my quiet time?

These were but a few of my questions, and I still go back to these questions a great deal when I am at my most stressed.

But I think the Lord just desires a willing heart to know Him. A willing heart. If we have that, He will guide us into a wonderful time with Him. Guaranteed.

Just take your Bible, a notebook and a pen and spend some quality time with your Father. It does not have to be fancy. He just desires a willing spirit, and He will take care of the rest. What an awesome, loving God we serve!

Father, I pray that You would guide me and my sisters to spend quality time with You. Help us not to be afraid of how to do it. Please give us a willing heart to want to learn from You, and I know that You will produce much fruit. We love You so, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I especially love Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s Praying Life Foundation. She really encourages everyone to have a life full of prayer to our Father, and I think that is the best place to start in abiding with Him.