TITHES OF YOUR TIME
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." - James 4:8 (KJV)
Since the great fall of man in the garden of Eden, man has in essence been far from God. There's definitely no way that we can hope for God's favor while we maintain a distance from Him. We find Him very willing and able to meet with them that draw close to Him (Matt 11:28). This is very encouraging. With James 4:8, above cited, there's therefore an assurance that God will respond to our move towards Him. When you allow God to draw near to you in response to your drawing near to Him, you definitely can't remain the same.
In 2 Chron 15:2, we have it more succinctly explained by the Holy Spirit:
"The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." There's no doubt that it's rewarding to draw near to God.
"... I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: ... " (Isaiah 45:19). When you invest much time seeking God, He rewards you by showing up for you.
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity ... " (Jeremiah 29:13-14)
When I gave my life newly to the Lord Jesus, something struck my attention. I decided that if certain persons could pray five times daily, why shouldn't I do better? I made up my mind to have regular fellowship moments with the Lord daily. I proceeded to set for myself a three-hourly meeting interval with the Holy Spirit. It began at 6am, then 9am, then 12 noon, then 3pm, again 6pm, 9pm, 12 midnight and so on and so forth. At such moments, I prayed for at least 30 minutes. This was my daily routine with the Lord as a new convert. Soon, I got so used to it, and so also was the Lord that He would practically remind me in my spirit that it was time for fellowship. As a legal practitioner then, my greatest challenge with these hours of fellowship was the one at 9am. Why? Because at 9am, courts would begin to sit and if I appeared in court, I would have some problem praying. At such moments, I would simply whisper thanks to the Lord. I never allowed the moment to go without meeting with my Maker. This accounts for my rapid growth, grace and anointing that the Lord has graciously blessed me with. All glory to Him!
God is faithful to give twenty four hours to us daily. As a tither, you are expected to give Him 10% of the daily 24 hours given to you by God, being two hours and forty minutes. Learn and practice to give the tithe of your day back to God daily (being the least time you give back to Him) in prayer, praises, worship, Bible reading, fellowship and visit to the poor and needy. This will bring you tremendous fulfillment and progress in your daily walk with the Master. Hallelujah!
The beautiful benefit you get from what I've just shared with you is that you'll become so blessed with God's presence that everyone around you will not find it difficult to notice the oil and grace of God upon your life. Praise God!
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, I appreciate You dearly for being willing to draw near to me in response to my drawing near to You. I receive grace to draw near to You daily, in Jesus name.