How to Build Up a 12-Minute Time with the Lord
Are you a new believer in Christ seeking to know the Lord better? Or are you a Christian of many years feeling the need for a more personal relationship with Him? Then how can you do it? Where do you begin?
The only way to get to know any person well, is to spend regular time with them. It especially helps to set aside some regular time with them each day. For example, you may eat a meal together or take a walk together. That’s what people do who love one another.
Similarly, we need to set aside some personal time with the Lord Jesus every day.
But when should you have such a time, how long should you spend, and what should you do in such a time?
Begin to have a time with the Lord first thing each morning.
For most people, the best time to spend with the Lord is first thing in the morning. Lamentations 3:22-23 said,
It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, / For His compassions do not fail; / They are new every morning; / Great is Your faithfulness.
In Psalms 119:147 the psalmist said,
I anticipated the dawn and cried out; / I hoped in Your words.
Unless special health issues prohibit, it’s best to have a time with the Lord first thing in the morning.
Start with a small time with the Lord, then build it up.
For starters, give the Lord a 12-minute time commitment. But it can be longer or shorter based on your capacity or circumstances. It’s kind of like starting a habit of exercise.
Like they say, the best exercise program is the one you’ll actually do. Big plans are useless if you quit after a few days.
We’re talking about something with life long benefits, that is, personally getting to know the most wonderful One in the universe!
Here are six things you can do in your daily time with the Lord.
This is just a sample so don’t be too rigid. Remember you’re spending time with a living Person and He may want to change the plan. Keep yourself open to Him.
1. Call on the name of the Lord Jesus
Break out of your wandering mind, by crying out to the Lord, just like to Psalmist did in Psalm 119 mentioned above. This is your spiritual deep breathing.
Calling on the name of the Lord, ushers you into the Spirit in your spirit and will also help you to set your mind on the spirit—Rom. 10:12-13; 1 Cor. 12:3; Rom. 8:6 (2 minutes).
2. Pray to fellowship with Jesus
Then continue your speaking to the Lord, by praying to turn your heart, open your heart and empty yourself of whatever is occupying you. Such prayers prepare you to receive something fresh from the Lord. Especially practice to tell the Lord Jesus that you love Him—2 Cor. 3:16; Psa. 62:8 (1 minute).
3. Pray-read the Lord’s word
Use your God-contacting spirit to pray over a few Bible verses. Turn each verse into your personal prayer. Read this post on pray-reading for more practical direction on this point—Eph. 6:17-18; 2 Tim. 3:16 (3 minutes).
4. Confess your sins
Confess any sins or offenses that you are conscious of while in your fellowship with the Lord. Confessing your sins will cleanse your conscience and remove any blockages to your fellowship with the Lord. Ask for the Lord’s forgiveness and cleansing. For more on confessing you may enjoy reading this post— 1 John 1:7, 9; Isa. 59:1-2 (3 minutes).
5. Consecrate yourself to the Lord
Each morning is a good time to present yourself to the Lord in a fresh way, to give Him the full ground in you. The real consecration is to give the Lord the freedom to work in you—Rom. 12:1-2; 6:13, 19; Mark 12:30 (2 minutes).
6. Petition
Finally, take a little time to ask the Lord concerning any needs, concerns, your growth in life or to mention any persons that need His salvation. You may even ask Him if there is any person or matter He wants you to pray for—1 Tim. 2:1; Eph. 6:18; Matt. 7:7 (1 minute).
Final Thoughts
Remember this 12-minute practice is just a starter, to help you begin a practice of spending time with the Lord each day. Don’t let the practice replace the Person. He may want you to stop everything and just love Him. Jesus is so sweet! Let’s get to know Him a little more each day.
Further Reading
- Here are a few hymns or spiritual songs to enrich your time with the Lord:
About Tom Smith
Hi. My name is Tom Smith. I'm the writer behind Holding to Truth in Love, and I love the Lord Jesus and His life-giving Word. Please feel free to send me an e-mail through the contact page if you have any questions. I hope you'd take a moment to subscribe to the Holding to Truth blog. Then you'll be sure not to miss a post. Thanks!
A 100% working way!
Your’re right. Although I don’t strictly follow each step in sequence each day, the principles in this post still govern my practice in having time with the Lord. I frequently begin by calling on the Lord’s name, to touch Him in my spirit, and continue with some prayers just to fellowship with the Lord, telling Him that I love Him, turning my heart to Him and opening to Him. Such a fellowship may include some confession or consecration and some thanks or praise. After some time of prayer, drawing near to the Lord in my spirit, I sense the need to feed on the Lord in His word by pray-reading. Finally, there may be some burden to pray for some people in my life. Yet there remains the consciousness that the time is not for keeping the procedure, but for cultivating an increasingly intimate relationship with the wonderful Lord Jesus who lives in me. I hope this is your experience and becomes that of every reader of this post. And don’t let 12 minutes limit you, just let it be a starting point.
It is so sweet to spend time absorbing God each morning not only for our own spiritual growth, but for the corporate expression of God on earth today.
” The highest profession on earth is to spend time being infused with God so that we can glow with God and shine forth God; this accomplishes the eternal economy of God to work Himself into man so that He may have His testimony, His enlarged and expanded expression.” – C.S. of Exodus, banner 1
So true. We need to spend time with the Lord each morning, not only that we may be spiritually nourished and grow in the Lord but so that God can gain His purpose to gain a corporate expression of Himself. This is really the “highest profession on earth”–to spend time to be infused with God so that we may glow with God and shine forth God’s enlarged and expanded expression. This was the experience of Moses on the mountain with God, this was the apostle Paul’s experience (2 Cor. 3:16-18), and God desires that it would be our daily experience as well. May the Lord grant us all this same vision, aspiration and practice. Thanks for the encouraging comment.
Thanks for very practical points.
Glad you found them helpful. When my mind wanders or don’t have clear direction for my time with the Lord, these items help to keep me focused and enable me to get the most of a time with the Lord. Just remember that its not just a checklist to follow but a Person we’re coming to know and enjoy.
With such outline to spend time with the Lord, 12 minutes fly! I have enjoyed my 12 minutes with the Lord more than I would have if I had had 30 minutes with the Lord without structure. I would have gotten distracted easily. Thank you for the opportunity to structure my time with the Lord!
Many believers say they spend time with the Lord, but what they do is not focus on Him and His word but enrich their Bible knowledge, pray for those around them, etc. What we need is to be brought back to spending time with the Lord, focusing on Him, and – start small! Start with 7 or 12 minues, and increase it day by day.
However, may we not fall into the trap of going through a routine or some motions and think we spent time with the Lord, but may we focus on Him, touch Him, and enjoy Him!
Thanks for the tips, brother. It’s good to have some guidelines and tips on how to improve and enrich our time with our beloved Lord Jesus!
That’s right. It’s easy to take care of a program but forget the person. Tips are only good to the extent that they lead us to the Person of Christ. Some believers, especially, at the beginning may think that it is too difficult to have a daily time with the Lord. That is why starting small is so important. 5-15 minutes should be manageable for every believe to have a start. What’s important is that we take that step to begin to cultivate a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. My hope is that this blog, particularly this post would encourage young believers to begin to enjoy the riches of Christ in His Word every day and by this would enter into the purpose of God.