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.
My distraction is myself. I sit down to spend time with God but my mind wanders. Before I know it an hour has passed and it is time for me to get going for the day. I need to learn to put all distractions out of my mind and focus on a God.
I try and make the most of the time that I have with GOD count. I can not say that I am distracted but I have a lot on my plate with working full time, taking care of my mom and the ministry that GOD has called me to. so at night I usually have an hour I spend with the LORD. I will try your suggestions, I really like the one about writing out non-negotiables that we need to follow. thank you for the tidbits!!
GOD bless!
Found you thru FB tonight. Thank you for your tips! My biggest distraction is discouragement. I desire an on-fire relationship with my God and Savior, but when life gets busy or hard I struggle to find meaning and depth when I am praying or reading my bible. Sometimes in a dry spell I feel like I am reading a textbook or praying to a brick wall and I struggle to trust that my emotions are deceptive. I struggle to believe that God still hears and cares, even though I know better. :/ I just continue to press on and press in.
I feel like my mind is constantly racing. I get involved with so many things it’s hard to keep track of everything. Family, career, even involvement in ministries at church can keep me distracted. When I sit down for quiet time, it’s hard to turn off my racing mind and open my heart and mind to hear the voice of God. I particularly appreciate the suggestion to give your to do list over to God. He knows how to handle it better anyway!!
Some good suggestions, thanks for sharing. I like to read my NKJV in the morning with my coffee and use my Companion Bible for further enrichment.
Megan
The season of life that I am in distracts me the most. Being a stay at home mom to toddler twins is hard! I strive to improve my relationship with Christ, because I so want that for my children.
My distraction is my family. Everytime I try to get a moment alone they need something. Also, trying to be supermom and do everything myself instead of it being a shared responsibility. Also, I sleep in later than I should when I could get up a little earlier to spend time with the Lord. Thanks for the opportunity to win!
This was just what I needed, I always feel like I never know where to start, I am excited to try these ! So thankful for Godly women to push you and encourage you in your walk with Christ !
Thank you for these guidelines, what a great help! My to-do list is always interrupting me! I have so much to keep track of and often feel guilty for things popping into my mind during my quiet time or me falling asleep! I will let God dictate my schedule and to-do list and free up my mind to focus on Him instead of quilt.
The most distracting thing to me is the season of life I am in and the tv. I have a hard time getting motivated to do anything these days.
I’m very disciplined about my quiet time, but my to-do list often distracts me. I love the idea of “allowing it” and just praying about the tasks. I never get to them all, so a “Thy will be done” prayer would feel like such a release. Guide me, Lord!
thank you for the tips. I really will try them,thank you
I could say its poor planning and time management, distraction with daily tasks etc. but the truth is that it is rebellion: thinking I can handle life alone without God’s input. So I am praying that God will soften my heart toward Him and give me a hunger for HIm.
how to get recipes and ideas saved off the computer to look at when computer/internet is down ?Please help..thank you in advance. Lord Bless
Since last September when I moved from my place of residence for the past 10 years to a 3 room side of a house ( which I’m very grateful for it) I haven’t had my CD player which I listened to Joel osteen, or had quiet time to pray. I’ve been so distracted as I have to move again as it is no longer healthy for me to stay where I am..I will be again living somewhere else in 3 weeks. Your gifts would enlighten me, help me study,or learn to study the bible as I just randomly flip pages. Looking for something to jump out at me. The Lord has provided me with a dream and I’ve listened finally and I get it. I just need more direction…
Thank you And I love this site. God Bless.
I fail to spend consistent quiet time with my Father in heaven because I am a night owl. I need to get to bed early in order to get up at 5 and spend an hour with Him before my kids need me. Also, on days when I wake up with a migraine, it’s almost impossible for me to spend that time with Him, even trying to get back to it later in the day. Before I worked outside the home, I would spend hours praying and doing Bible studies after my kids got on the bus. Our circumstances have changed and I work part time now. We’ve also become part of a team planting a church and I KNOW I need that time with Him more than ever, yet now it seems to be harder than ever to make it happen. I have weeks where I’m consistent and other weeks when I don’t do so well. I have to keep reminding myself that He loves me the same, every day. Thank you for this post.
Just getting caught up in day to day life and not putting God first.Just Amy Noaker
I am planning to leave my TV off during the 6 weeks of Lent. I don’t usually observe Lent, but this is a good time to stop bad habits and start new ones. I will be reading, praying, and writing during this time. I like the idea of writing down the commands that I find. But i also think I want to write down all the ways Jesus loves me. What He thinks of me as His child. I love TV and this will be challenging, but I’m already a little excited about building my relationship with Jesus and the new communication window I’ll be opening by praying more. And I love Proverbs 31 Ministries. Thank you for all you do.
I let the cares of this world take over alot. My mind is on the Lord alot during the day, but not FOCUSED on HIM. It all comes out at night when it is quiet and I am lying in bed. Then I want to tell Him all about everything but I know I shouldn’t leave talking to my Lord till the end of the day. I want to do better! :)
Disorganization would be the biggie! Got to find a way to get organized once and for all.
Thank you so much for your post “Five ways to sit at His feet.” My problem is poor time management and deciding and following through with giving God my best which is first thing in the morning rather than letting one thing, then another and so on interrupt my time with God. And, then its not a fresh me seeking a word from God, it’s the leftovers from a very tiring day. With His help, I will make it a priority to rise a little earlier and give his the best of me to hear what He says to me.
At the moment, disorganization, I am truly trying to get better.
I go to work very early in the morning and I am also a morning person. I would prefer to sit and have my quiet time with God first thing in the morning instead of going to work. I’m too young to retire so I have to “make” time in the evening.
I believe it’s me. I oftentimes don’t make it a huge priority to get up early and meet with God first before my day begins.I know time is short and we can’t get back busy time we must make it a priority to meet with Him. I know I need to do it first thing in the morning because when I do I am blessed with being equipped to handle the rest of the day. I would love to win the goodies in the picture and I will definitely use them in the morning if I win!!! :)
I hate to admit it but it is totally true… I say I am going to get up in the morning and have my quiet time but if I do I fall asleep during it or I have to read the same paragraph over and over and then at night after everyone is in bed I just want to veg out and watch non sense tv. For Lent I have pray about it and I want to spend the next 40 days getting to know my Father I pray to get up early take my shower and then have my quiet time before waking the rest of the house up if I oversleep I will turn off the TV and Facebook and spend some time in the word to build that relationship with Him and see myself through His eyes and to see others like He does. Today is a new day and I ready to become the women after God heart and be who He calls me to be.