Meeting with God daily through reading the Bible and praying is one of the most powerful practices in the Christian life.  Like all relationships, knowing God requires consistent time with him.  It’s not something we have to do to please God, it’s something we want to do to know him more and become more like him. And it doesn’t have to take a lot of time.  You can start building a meaningful connection with God in ten minutes a day.  Here’s how:

• Prepare your heart to meet with God.  Quiet your spirit as you enter God’s presence.  Pray and thank God for the opportunity to meet with him.  Ask God to lead you and speak to you about whatever he wants to show you.  Ask him to meet you during this time.
• Spend some time reading the Bible.  This might be a few verses or a chapter or more.  Don’t read to check a box.  Read the amount that’s necessary for you to hear from God.  Less can be more if you slow down and think about what you’re reading.  A reading plan can be a helpful way to work through the Scriptures systematically no matter how much you read each day.  See the section on reading plans for more ideas.
• Then spend some time connecting with God through prayer and worship.  You can use the Lord’s Prayer method discussed below or another approach.  Use what stood out to you from your reading and bring that to God.  Ask him to help you live this out.  Refusing to obey what God shows you is one of the quickest ways to stop hearing from him.

As you incorporate this practice of meeting with God daily, you will begin to grow more spiritually.  It’s good to find the rhythm and habits that help you meet with God consistently, but don’t be afraid to mix up your routine to hear from God in different ways too.