By Pastor Randy Morgan

One of the most difficult things a believer in Jesus will do is spend DAILY, consistent times alone with God. Our lives in a modern age are so hectic and filled with distractions. However, God SEEKS PEOPLE WHO HAVE A HEART TO SEEK HIM. With that in mind, here are some basic steps in establishing a pattern for spending time with God. It is flexible so that the Holy Spirit can change the agenda, but it is structured enough that if He doesn't change the agenda, you will have a quality, God-Centered time alone with your heavenly Father.

Modify this structure to your own needs. It can take as little as 15 minutes and as much as several hours. This pattern is a Biblical pattern and it will furnish you with plenty of room to develop a dialogue with God.

As you enter into time alone with God, remember, He is to be worshipped. Worship is God's atmosphere. His Presence will come into a moment that is saturated with worship. Start by simply uttering words of praise, from your heart - "Lord, I worship You," "I give you praise," etc. Begin to sing a song of worship to Him. Maybe have a CD playing softly - some worship music that you know, so that you can sing to Him.

Spend as much time as you can in worship. Let worship be the primary part of your time alone with God.

As you transition out of your time of worship with God, listen to the Holy Spirit for this timing. Grow sensitive to what God wants, what God desires from your time with Him. He may gently whisper, "move on," or He may say, "stay right here in worship for a while."

Whatever you sense God say, give Him. Be aware that God knows your needs, He knows your time, He knows everything, so as you've worshipped, take time to listen to what He wants from you.

If you hear nothing, relatively quickly, then move on to the next step in your time alone with God.

if you sense that God wants you to move on, already have your Bible ready to read. Pick a reading agenda in advance of going into your time alone with God. Maybe you start reading in Mark or Ephesians, or maybe you have a daily devotional Bible with an already prescribed reading for the day. Whatever your reading agenda, make sure you have your Bible ready to go when it is time to move into this part of your time alone with God.

Also, have a pen and paper ready to make notes on what you read. God seeks to speak with you through the Word, He wants you to "Behold Him" in the Scriptures. So, pay close attention as you read. Look for what God "does" or "says" particularly about Himself, and then about you. Listen as you read, and let the Holy Spirit breathe life through the Words your reading.

Here is the link to New Covenant Church of Atlanta's daily devotional - http://www.wingz2fly.com/dd/index.php

Now, as you move from reading, it's time to pray. What to pray for? What to pray for??????

First, pray for authorities, government, church leaders, etc. Petition God to help them, strengthen them, and give them wisdom.

Second, pray for yourself, your needs, your family, your church, your spouse, make your petitions known to God. He desires to hear you make your prayer requests known.

Third, pray for God to use you and your church family. Ask God to use us to reach the lost. Ask God to use us to Glorify Himself and His Name. Ask God for nations to come to know Him and to call on His Name. Ask God to glorify Himself through the LGBT community as well as through the straight community. Ask Him to glorify His Name among us.

Fourth, if you have a prayer language, and can pray in tongues, begin to release that flow during this time. Yield to the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to give you the utterance for needs that you are unaware of.

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Having a daily time alone with God can and should be the highlight of our days. He's called us to Himself, now it's time to move closer to Him.

He promises that if we move closer to Him, He will move closer to us (James 4:8).