5 Reasons You Don’t Have Time For God

One of the biggest struggles I have in my Christian life is spending time with the Lord. Are you shocked? Disgusted? Sometimes I’m those things. I am in awe when I look at my life from before Christ compared to today as a believer. Thankful isn’t a big enough word for what I feel about my salvation and the way I see God work in the big and small things in my life. Yet, I continue to occasionally go through seasons in which I feel like I don’t have time for God. This struggle isn’t unique, but how do we fix it if we don’t figure out why finding time to spend with the God feels so difficult. So, let’s investigate.

What Is “Time With God?”

It’s important that I explain what I mean by having time for God to ensure we are all thinking about the same thing. As a born-again Christian, I’m always with God. In fact, I’m indwelled by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; John 14:17). However, just because I’m in the presence of God does not mean I’m spending time with Him.

Picture it. The kids are in bed, and the house is finally quiet. Your husband is sitting next to you on the couch. You have his undivided attention if you want it, but you spend the next two hours scrolling on your phone and texting your friends. Sure, you two are in the room together, but you are definitely not giving him any of your time. Moreover, in this example, you’re ignoring your husband.

Time with God is similar in that it requires a deliberate choice to attend to Him and put other things aside. For example, you can spend time with God by praying, reading the Bible, studying the Bible, meditating on His Word, and singing hymns. It’s about knowing Him better, worshiping Him, and praising Him.

None of what I listed out sounds so difficult, and Christians generally enjoy those things. Why, then, do so many people struggle to have a consistent time with the Lord? I used to think I was the only one who experienced difficulties in this area of my Christian life, but it’s like a dirty little secret in churches all over the country. Few want to admit it, but nearly everyone has stumbled in this discipline. Why?

Is This Why You Don’t Have Time For God?

I can’t pin down one simple reason Christians find it difficult to make time for God in their lives because I believe there are many possible reasons. There are five, though, that I think are most common. At least, these reasons are the ones I have encountered most often.

1. You Don’t Have Time For God Because You Aren’t Saved

Why not get the most controversial reason out of the way? It’s possible that you don’t have time for God in your day because you aren’t genuinely born again. That makes sense because someone who hasn’t died to herself (Galatians 2:20) and become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) would have little reason to carve out time every day to spend time with Him. She isn’t His child.

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” 1 John 3:9-10 (ESV)

John makes a very clear distinction here. People are either children of God or children of the devil. Why would someone who is not a child of God care to seek out knowledge of Him and learn to better obey Him?

Anyone who continues to struggle with making time for God in her life should self-evaluate. Even people who sit in church pews, serve in ministries, and grew up in Christian homes can be lost. Not all unsaved people look “bad.”

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Matthew 7:21-23

2. You Don’t Have Time For God Because You’re Scared

Spending time with God can be a frightening idea. What if He exposes my sin to me? Will He pull me out of my self-protective denial and make me face the worst parts of myself? Those questions can lead us to avoid time with God because we’d rather limp along without Him than deal with ourselves.

I’ve been in this mindset. I knew I was in a bad place, but the idea of approaching God with it was terrifying. I felt ashamed, and even though I knew better, I worried He’d reject me. As if God would give me the cold shoulder!

It seemed easier to sweep it all under the rug than face whatever truth about myself I didn’t want to address. Eventually, as time went by, I felt too far gone to come to Him. The joke was on me, though, because avoiding time with God made me feel worse and more desperate to be with Him…but also too scared to follow through.

When I finally couldn’t take it anymore, I got up really early in the morning and humbly (and shamefully) prayed. I immediately felt a weight lift off my shoulders. There was no rejection, just a loving Father ready to receive His daughter.

Why do we shrink away from Him when we need Him most? Is feeling ashamed worth distancing ourselves from the One who can help us heal and move forward? No. the answer is obviously “no.”

3. You Don’t Have Time For God Because You Don’t Plan The Time

I love fresh calendars and new planners. All those blank pages are filled with possibilities. I can spend hours filling them out and preparing them for the year ahead of me. I’m not alone in this. Some of you are also making lists, literally writing “take shower” in your daily tasks, and planning out the minutiae of the day. But somehow you run out of time for God by the time you’re ready for bed.

Much like with family time, marital intimacy, and maintaining friendships, we need to plan the time. Perhaps we’d rather not put these things on a to-do list because we’re afraid they will become chores once that happens, but I’d argue that I’d rather those things end up on a to-do list than pushed aside and forgotten.

If you’re someone who follows a schedule, makes lists, and has a difficult time deviating from a plan, putting God in the planner is a great idea. Also, to increase your chances of follow-though, add time with God to the top of the list or at least earlier than later. Go ahead and eat breakfast first if you can’t focus on an empty stomach. Do what works for you and makes your time with God quality time.

4. You Don’t Have Time For God Because You’re Too Busy

Christians love to be busy. I missed out on a Christian upbringing, so I don’t know how y’all grew up. Were you taught that downtime was a sin or something? Take a breather, folks, and make some margin in your days.

When our days are too filled, God gets pushed back. If your day falls behind schedule and needy people and deadlines are looming, time with God has to wait. We think, “I’ll read the Bible tonight. First, I need to finish that work project or answer those emails or finish the dessert for potluck or…” Everything is time sensitive and there are always people who need or want more. That’s modern life, I suppose. We can combat that by scheduling less in our days in order to leave room for the schedule to be flexible and personal time with God to be a reality.

No matter how busy you are, He’s the priority. You know that already, and it’s time to live like it’s true.

5. You Don’t Have Time For God Because You Don’t Know How To Spend Time With Him

Maybe you struggle to spend time with God because you just aren’t sure what to do. As a new believer, I was really confused about how to do this. I would pick up my Bible and wonder where to begin. Different people have varying opinions on that, but I say start where you want to.

Are you interested in learning about the early Church? Read from Acts. Looking for a lot of doctrine and big ideas packed into each verse? Romans is a good place to start. Seeking godly wisdom? Proverbs, it is. You can also get a book to help you work through a book in the Bible. The Warren Wiersbe Be Series is a great resource for this.

The other big uncertainty for me was prayer. I grew up Catholic(ish), and prayer was always a rehearsed and memorized thing. I never prayed something I wasn’t taught in my catechism class. Thankfully, Jesus tells us how to pray.

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”

Matthew 6:9-13 (ESV)

As a Catholic, I was taught to pray this exact prayer, but as a born-again Christian I came to realize this is how we should pray, not necessarily what we should pray.

How To Pray

1. Begin by praising God.

2. Pray for His will to be done.

Ultimately, we should agree with God’s plans rather than trying to insist on our own wants.

3. Pray for our needs.

Remember needs are not the same as wants. Also, Jesus’ prayer indicates we should pray for and expect what we need for today rather than for the next week, month, or year. We pray for our daily needs, so we should be praying to Him…daily.

4. Confess sin and ask for forgiveness.

5. Pray for help to forgive others.

6. Ask God to keep us from giving into temptations and sinning.

Final Thought

It is surprisingly easy to go from task to task in life, even “spiritual” ones, and find ourselves out of fellowship with God. By accident or through sinfulness, we go far too long without having time with God. For some of us, too long is a day while others will finish out the week before realizing they’ve not met with Him. Some believers, sadly, are in a self-appointed spiritual desert and for some reason won’t drink from the Spring of Living Water.

We all have our reasons for sometimes feeling like we don’t have time for God, but none of those reasons are legitimate. We’re making a choice. It’s the wrong one, in fact. However, we can choose to come to God at any point no matter how long it has been. But are you willing to make the time for Him? Don’t we have the time to give to the One who gave us time?

How do you make sure you spend time with God on a regular basis?

Image courtesy of Peter Borter via Unsplash.