Five Ways to Sit at His Feet
Do you ever put tasks ahead of spending time with Jesus?
A story in Luke 10 tells of two sisters and how they spent their time when Jesus came one day for a visit. Martha was busy scurrying to get to the end of her “to-do list,” but Mary chose a different path. She settled herself at Jesus’ feet, soaking in His words and His presence.
Perhaps today we can set aside our to-do lists until we’ve mimicked Mary. Let’s stop scurrying and be seated instead. There is always plenty of room at His feet.
Here are five ways to slow down and soak in the presence of Jesus:
1. Give your to-do list to the Lord.
Sometimes it is so hard to hear the Lord’s voice through all of the hustle of our day. We stress and obsess about our to-do list and all of our many appointments. The best way to focus in on our time with God {and to leave our to-do list behind} is actually to take our to-do list along with us!
Get alone and get quiet. Ask God to bring to your mind all that you must get done. Make a list of these things. Then, spend time praying through each item on the list.
As God brings more tasks to your mind, write them down. Don’t worry that it is unspiritual to stop halfway through a prayer and jot an item down. It helps you to clear your mind and then allows you to focus better on your time alone with God. He is concerned about all of the details of our life even if it is our plan to go grocery shopping or run to the dry cleaners.
2. Get intentional.
Treat your time alone with God as serious as any other appointment you have. When you have to go to the dentist, you brush your teeth and make sure you show up on time. Why do we assume our time alone with God will just happen spontaneously? Learn to treat it with intentionality. Enter in the time you will spend with God in your digital calendar or write it in your paper planner. You can even set an alarm on your phone. Have a designated time and stick to it.
3. Read and write.
Get a hold of a good devotional book or Bible study workbook. You can check out some of my favorites here. Use them to help you know where to read in the Bible. But don’t just read the Bible. Write your thoughts down too.
Keeping a journal will help you grow your relationship with God. You will process as you write out your thoughts. Also learn to both read and write prayers. Read prayers in the book of Psalms out loud to God. Then, write out your own specific prayers to Him as well. It will amaze you when you go back later and see the ways that God answered your prayers.
4. Make a recording and memorize.
Ever vowed to memorize scripture but then failed to follow through? One way to remedy this is to memorize verses by listening to them audibly over and over again in your own voice. Use your phone’s voice memo app to record yourself reading out loud any verses or passages of scripture you would like to commit to memory. Then, pop in your headphones and listen to the verses each day as you walk, do housework, or cook dinner. It makes it so much easier to cement the words in your in your mind this way!
5. Discover the Bible’s non-negotiables.
Grab a Bible and a notebook. Pick a New Testament book such as James or Colossians. Read it through stopping each time you see a non-negotiable command that we as Christians are supposed to do. When you come across one, write it down. For example: James 1:19-21 (CSB) says…
“My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
So you would write in your notebook:
When dealing with others, I need to:
~ Be quick to listen
~ Be slow to speak
~ Be slow to get angry because being angry doesn’t accomplish the things of God.
I must also:
~ Get rid of that which is morally wrong and evil.
~ I need to spend time planting the word of God humbly in my heart. It will save me!
When we read the Bible, we learn. However, when we write out the commands in a way that is personal to us, we allow the word to take root deep within our hearts. This will help us the next time we are faced with a situation where we need to react in a godly manner but find it challenging. When we have trained our brain to recall the non-negotiables of a Christian’s behavior, it allows us to act, and react, in a much better way.
Free Printable
Here’s a printable reminder of this list for you.
Blessings to you as you sit at his feet.
Your life is loud. But if you will just press pause for a few minutes each day, you can discover what Jesus longs to give you: His peace.
Whether you’re a working professional, a wife, a mom, a sister, an aunt, a daughter-in-law, or any combination of these, your life is busy. And no matter what stage of life you may find yourself in, what your hurried and overcrowded heart needs most is rest. In Settle My Soul, my co-author Ruth Schwenk and I invite you to carve out a few moments in your day to deepen your relationship with the Lord through 100 encouraging devotions.
**affiliate links may be included at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that bring value to my readers’ lives.
I guess just the season of life in. Ready to retire and slow down but unable to do so at this time. Working hard to start getting my time with God in first and making it a priority.
Thank you for the encouragement I have found here.
I would love to be more like Mary and less like Martha! I retired early, and have SO much time, but no organizational skills to keep myself on task and intentional about what I do. I find myself constantly saying “squirrel” (from the movie, “Up”). Reading Proverbs 31 devotions each day have been my time with Jesus… and I know that is not enough!
I have such a busy day working full time, taking care of my kids, and exercising. I have to get up early to have a quiet time. Many days I am so tired and sleep in instead. Thank you for your encouragement. I need to be more intentional about getting to bed earlier and getting up when my alarm turns on.
Saying yes to too many things!
A busy mind. Rushing through life. I need to stop , slow down and breathe. These 5 tips are great!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! God bless
I do have a time set aside for the Lord, first thing in the morning. I generally read a devotional, pray, and read scripture, BUT my biggest temptation (which I succumb to more than I would like) is to use that time for other things – like housework, starting dinner,etc. I also get distracted by my high school age daughter, who is the only one up during my quiet hour. Thank you for some new ideas for making the most of my time with God.
Sleeping in is my biggest reason now. :( The season I’m in is so busy, I’m finding myself exhausted. I need time with Him to rejuvenate and refresh my spirit.
Thank you for the encouraging devotion and 5 ways to sit at Jesus feet!! So many times I struggle like Martha did and so want to be like Mary!! Praying I can get there one quiet time at a time!!
For me, jumping around on my tasks, rather than completing one before moving to the next one, keeps me from accomplishing things I set out to do. I love the idea of taking my list to Him in prayer- to help me stay focused and complete tasks with His help. I also don’t keep asking my family for help… Maybe asking God to help me with my list of tasks will help me allow others to help, as well! Thank you!
I find it hard to wake up early enough before the kids do and be awake enough & attentive to the Word. But I’m working on it!
Lack of planning is what causes me to miss my time with God. I am slowly getting better at this.
Lack of a consistent routine often nixes my quiet time with Jesus. I need to be more intentional in my walk. Thank you for the suggestions.
I have a unrealistic idea of the things I can get done in a certain amount of time. I like the idea of praying over my list so that I accomplish the things the Lord desires of me. Thanks for sharing.
The never ending to do list! I cried when I read the devotional on Proverbs 31. Your story was mine. I always have so much to do, and a lot of it is good things for others. My verse for this year is Be still and know that I am God. I am trying to slow down and put my time with Him first. Thanks!
God and I have coffee every morning and it truly is my favorite time of the day. On the rare days that I miss our time together, I certainly feel it. My day just doesn’t seem to go right. But lately I am noticing that the time feels hollow. I’m here but i’m easily distracted and ‘not here’ and the day spirals out of control. I enjoyed your blog very much, especially about reading scriptures and writing down the commands. What a great way to internalize what I’m reading so they’re not just words on a screen! Lately my to-do list has been sapping my energy so I will sit with our Father today and ask Him to help me re-organize it according to His will. Thank you, Karen, for a new perspective and God bless :)
my son wakes up incredibly early every single day and that has always been my favorite time to sit at the feet of Jesus. I know I need to become better at setting a different time/appointment…but it is hard to give up my hopes that something will change on his part.
Seems there is always something I need to be doing, at work, at home. And sometimes I must confess I just want to relax and do nothing at all, watch HGTV, and pretend I’m shopping for a Beach Bargain escape. Ivdo try to do a devotional to start my day, but even that is sometimes rushed.
Before I even read your devotion this morning, I had thought back already to the terrible day that I had yesterday. It hit me hard when I remembered I didn’t have time before work to do my regular devotions. “That was it!” I said to myself. That’s why my day went every which way but the right way! So I quickly turned my computer on to make sure I read this morning. I was so amazed at the words in your devotion! I loved it and needed to hear it again. God just amazes me at how He works and pulls everything together! He is so good!
I need to prioritize quiet time with God, preferably before the kids wake up. It seems like once the family is up and going there is no time to focus on just one thing. To get the most out of my devotions I think I need to wake up earlier!
Wandering mind and general distractions….wow, they can pile up!. This devo is wonderful…..makes me determined to do better!
Great post today, so many truths that I needed to hear! God has been telling my to take notes during my quiet time and your post reaffirmed that. I get up early every day and read, but I have forgotten what I read by mid morning! I need to take note and make scripture note cards, so that I study His word morning and night. Thank you!
I would have to say putting it off. I will exercise first, then check the computer, then do this one thing for my husband or kids. Before I know it the day has started and I am off running, not stopping for time with God.
I am easily distracted and need to be more organized. I love the idea of memorizing scripture!
Love this giveaway! Thanks Karen :)
Probably reading the blogs I love keeps me out of having a quiet time regularly.
My biggest impediment is not having a place to have a quiet time. I have been without a home of my own for more than 4 years. Living with others means having to be ever mindful of their space. I have prayed and believed for a better job and higher pay so that i could afford the dignity of my own home (even if it was just a tiny apartment), but God has not yet opened that door for me yet. I can wake up early and read my bible/devotionals, but all prayer is silent and worship has to wait until I’m in my car on the way to work. I have no privacy.
Living this way has really made me realize how true it is that “All I know is I’m not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong.”