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Main Scripture
“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”
—Luke 5:16, NKJV
Life has a way of filling whatever space we give it. Responsibilities multiply. Messages arrive. Work expands. People need us. Even good things can crowd our schedules until very little room remains for time with God.
Luke gives us an important glimpse into the life of Jesus. As news about him spread, “great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities” (Luke 5:15). The needs around him were real, and the opportunities for ministry were increasing. Yet the next verse tells us, “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”
Jesus did not wait until there was nothing else to do. He made time to be with the Father.
The word “often” is important. Luke’s wording suggests a repeated pattern in Jesus’ life. He was regularly withdrawing to quiet places to pray. This was not a single retreat after an unusually difficult day.
The timing is also striking. The crowds were growing, people wanted to hear him, and many were seeking healing. These were legitimate and meaningful demands. Yet Jesus still withdrew to pray. He made space for the Father in the middle of important work, not only when nothing else required his attention.
If we are honest, we usually find time for what we consider important. When a crisis comes or we desperately need God’s help, we somehow find time to pray. If someone offered us a million dollars to meet for thirty minutes, most of us would rearrange the day without much hesitation. The issue, then, is not always whether time exists. Sometimes the deeper question is what we have decided deserves priority.
Making space for God sometimes requires more than finding an unused opening in the schedule. We may need to decide that time with God deserves priority over something else we enjoy. There may be nothing wrong with the television program, the extra scrolling, the hobby, or the other activity. But if time with God continually receives whatever is left after everything else, there may rarely be much left.
Our schedules can reveal our priorities.
This does not mean every believer must follow the same routine. The amount of available time differs from person to person and from season to season. Parents of young children, caregivers, students, retirees, pastors, professionals, and people working multiple jobs will not arrange their days in the same way. The question is whether time with God has an intentional place in the life you actually live.
This week’s spiritual practice is to establish or strengthen a regular time with God.
A regular time can become a habit, and habits are often strengthened by simple cues. A cue is something that reminds us when it is time to begin. It might be a particular time of day, a place, or an activity that already occurs regularly.
For example, you might spend time with God after you pour your morning coffee, before you check your phone, at the beginning of your lunch break, during part of your commute, or before you go to bed. The cue is not the spiritual practice itself. It simply helps make the practice more consistent.
Over time, the rhythm can become familiar. The morning begins, the coffee is poured, and your attention turns toward God. The lunch break starts, and you pause to pray. The evening quiets down, and you open Scripture before turning to something else. The habit helps us return regularly to God instead of leaving that time to chance.
There will always be exceptions. Emergencies happen. Schedules change. Travel, illness, family responsibilities, and unexpected demands can interrupt routines. The goal is not rigid perfection. The goal is to create a pattern that helps us return regularly to God.
Making space for God also requires us to think honestly about what fills our time. Sometimes we say we do not have time when what we really mean is that our time has already been given elsewhere. Some of that time belongs to necessary responsibilities. But some belongs to choices. We may spend more time than we realize watching, scrolling, browsing, talking, or moving from one form of entertainment to another.
None of those things is automatically wrong. The question is whether something good or enjoyable is regularly taking the place of something more important.
There may be seasons when making space for God requires giving something up. Perhaps fifteen minutes of television becomes fifteen minutes of prayer. Perhaps Scripture comes before social media in the morning. Perhaps part of a lunch break is protected from email. Perhaps an evening activity is shortened so there is room for time with God.
Giving something up can help reveal what we truly value.
Jesus’ pattern in Luke 5 is especially striking because the demands around him were meaningful. People were coming to hear him and to be healed. Our greatest competition for time with God may not always be sinful or frivolous things. Sometimes good responsibilities can fill every available space unless we deliberately protect time for the Lord.
Some people struggle to make time for prayer because prayer itself can feel difficult. We may wonder what we are supposed to say for fifteen or thirty minutes, or become discouraged when we do not sense God saying anything in return. The Gospels do not tell us what Jesus said every time he withdrew to pray, and they do not describe the Father speaking audibly to him every time. Prayer does not require an endless stream of words or a clear answer every time. We can speak honestly, give thanks, bring our needs, read and reflect on Scripture, sit in silence, or simply spend time with God.
Time with God is still worthwhile when nothing unusual happens. Relationship with God is not measured by how many words we produce or whether we receive an immediate answer. Sometimes the important thing is simply to show up, give God our time, and remain open to him.
Time with God may include Scripture, prayer, worship, reflection, silence, or some combination of these. The point is to give God our attention.
We should also remember that God is not present only during the time we set aside for him. He is with us throughout the day. A regular time with God can help us become more aware of his presence when we return to our work, relationships, responsibilities, and decisions.
Prayer can steady us before a difficult conversation. Scripture can redirect our thinking. Quiet reflection can expose the anxiety we have been carrying. Worship can restore perspective. Time before God can remind us that our lives are not held together by our schedules, productivity, or ability to manage everything.
Jesus withdrew, and then he returned to the people and responsibilities before him. That rhythm offers us a helpful pattern. We make space for God, and we return to daily life more aware of him.
Try It This Week
Choose a regular time and place for focused attention to God.
Then decide what will help make that time realistic and repeatable.
You might use this pattern:
- Choose a time you can reasonably protect.
- Identify a simple cue that will remind you to begin.
- Decide what distraction may need to be reduced or removed.
- Begin by acknowledging God’s presence.
- Spend time in prayer, Scripture, worship, or quiet reflection.
- Keep returning to the practice even if the routine is interrupted.
- At the end of the week, reflect on what helped and what made the practice difficult.
Ask yourself:
What time will I regularly give to God, and what may need to change so that I can protect it?
Reflection Question
What does the way I currently use my time reveal about the place I am giving to God?
A Prayer for the Week
Lord, you have given me the time and life I have.
Help me use them wisely.
Show me where I have allowed good things, enjoyable things, or unnecessary distractions to crowd out time with you. Give me wisdom to order my priorities and discipline to protect the time I set apart.
Help me develop a regular rhythm of prayer, Scripture, worship, and time with you.
When my routine is interrupted, help me begin again without discouragement. Teach me to seek you consistently and to carry an awareness of your presence into the rest of my day.
Amen.
Closing Thought
We usually make time for what we value. This week, give time with God a clear place in your schedule, protect it, and allow that practice to become part of the rhythm of your life.
A Note to Readers
The Dialogue is an online Bible study and formation community for people who want to grow in Christ through Scripture, spiritual practice, and thoughtful conversation.
As we continue growing together, making regular space for God can help us become more aware of his Word, his presence, and his work in our lives.
You can learn more at wholenesspathway.org.