One of the easiest traps to fall into in vocational ministry is mistaking studying God’s Word in order to teach it with simply spending time with God in relationship. I’ve run into this more times than I can count!

For teachers and pastors, especially, this trap can be camouflaged really well under the blanket of “message prep”. We spend 10-20 hours per week preparing for a message – reading the passage in multiple versions, reading commentaries, researching the historical context of the passage, and loads of other tasks associated with preaching or teaching with excellence. And these are all good things and all important things as we seek to serve God and His people well.

The trouble begins when we start to think that those 10-20 hours of work count as time spent alone with God.

But the time we spend getting ready to teach is much, much different from the time we spend simply sitting with God and our Bible in silence, stillness, and solitude, absorbing the truths we find in His Word, worshipping Him, and talking to Him in prayer. Yes, if we’re doing it right, our study time is also a time of prayer, but the subtle differences are what end up throwing us off:

In our study time, we’re looking for God’s message for other people, so we pray for wisdom, for the right words, and for understanding. Our aim is a finished message, ready to be presented (whether verbally or in writing) to an audience.
In our time alone with God, however, we pray for wisdom and understanding so that we ourselves can know Him better, can know what He wants us to do, and so that we can relate to Him on a more intimate level.
In our study time, we’re looking for facts, figures, illustrations, and practical application.
In our time alone with God, we’re looking for a deeper personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, with our Savior, and with our Guide and Comforter.

The danger we face when we begin to substitute study time for personal time with God is that our relationship with God becomes more of a business partnership than that of a Father and His beloved child. Without spending time with God, just sitting and enjoying each other’s company, our relationship can grow cold, stale, and detached. Sure, it looks and feels like we’re spending time with God, but really, we’re just spending time near God, and eventually, we’ll start to notice the separation.

If you are finding yourself in a dry season, it may be because you’ve allowed yourself to substitute your study time for Father-daughter time. If that’s the case, it’s time to get back to the basics. Set aside time every day to simply sit with God, reading a short passage, a chapter, or a Psalm, and talking to Him about what you see. Talk to Him about how you’re feeling. Worship Him for who He is. Thank Him for the ways you’ve seen His faithfulness to you on display. Sit quietly, and give Him room to speak. This is not a time to set an agenda. It's simply time to sit, rest, and listen.

The time you spend alone with God – just you and Him with no real agenda – will not only become a source of peace, joy, and strength for your day, you may also find that it improves your teaching. Our intimate knowledge of the God we want to share with our congregations and audiences is critical. You can’t teach what you don’t know, and the best way to know someone is simply to spend time with them.

Have you spent time alone with God today? If not, there’s still time, and He would love to sit and chat with you, His precious daughter!