DAILY COMMUNION

Our Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ who go to church every morning and receive communion are in a daily routine attempting to honor and worship God. We can learn a lot from them regarding the discipline and devotion to dedicate time for connecting with God.


Evangelical Christians have our own unique way of having daily communion with Christ. It is affectionately known as a “Quiet Time” where we spend time with God, generally first thing in the morning, or at the end of the day.


TITHING OF TIME
I look at the first hour of my day as belonging to the Lord. It is not mine. I have surrendered that to Him. There are many other things I could do with that hour that don’t get done as a result of taking this time to sit in communion with Christ. Don’t let the prospect of an hour time-block overwhelm you. I suggest starting with a 15-minute dedicated time and then gradually increasing it to 30 minutes. For some, bookending your day with 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening might work really well. I have been striving for a long time now to spend time with Christ at the end of every day as well. I have been unsuccessful in making this into a habit like I have with my morning tithe of time to Christ. Pray for me that I would have the discipline to avoid reading the news and give that time to Christ instead. We have to be willing to give up certain things to fit in a daily tithe of time to Christ, and I know it is not easy. I struggle like you with this, and I especially have compassion for those with young children. They can demand so much of our time, and the idea of quiet time can seem like a fantasy. However, if we humble ourselves and ask Christ for help and are sincere in receiving this help, God will answer our prayer. But we have to give up something. In your case, it may be sleep. In my case, Internet news channel surfing.


A DAILY DISCIPLINE
There are some things that have to happen for you to make this a daily discipline. Either your heart has to change, and your thinking will follow, or your mind has to change, and your heart will follow. In either case, it will result in the action of actually having a dedicated, special time of daily communion with Christ.


Cognitively (our thinking) can change. We can come to an intellectual reasoning and rationale for dedicating time for Christ every day. You’ve heard the expression: “Where the head goes, the body will follow.” You can lead yourself into this positive behavior by coming to believe that it is the right thing to do. For those who are more thinking-oriented (analytical), this is a great approach. Perhaps you might consider a self-directed Bible study of all the passages in Scripture where we see Christ getting alone and praying. I firmly believe it is safe to assume that He did so on a daily basis. This is not to say you can’t be in communion with Christ throughout your day, as I’m sure Jesus was with Father God. I’m just advocating for a special, dedicated quiet time where you practice the elements of daily communion, which I’ll list in the last section of this article.


Emotionally (our heart) can change. We can come to an emotional decision that is based on love and devotion for Christ. Because of how these special times with the Lord make us feel, we can desire more and more communion with God our Father, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. This tremendous emotional reward we receive from this quiet time can and will change our thinking from “I don’t have time for this” to “My heart has to have this time of being nourished by the one who loves me more than anyone.”


You can think your way into feelings, or feel your way into thinking, but the end result will be action. And the action in this case results in powerful communion with our Creator, God Himself. There are a number of elements in this discipline. We’ll end with a list of what I’ve discovered over the years of having this special time of communion.


I’m sure there are other elements I am missing in my time, that you may have in yours. Please write me and let me know what they are. For example, I don’t have singing worship songs on my list. Sometimes I do this, but it is not the regular elements that make up my time of communion. Someone else may tell you that it is their primary element. I am not meaning to be didactic here. Follow the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you, and your quiet time will evolve as God leads it to.


ELEMENTS OF A DAILY QUIET TIME
Following are seven key elements that can be part of a Christ-follower’s daily communion with God:

1. Dedicated, extended time with Christ (at least a half-hour, if not one or one and a half hours).
   
2. Daily. We will be richly rewarded if we follow the footsteps of our Master, Christ Jesus, who got alone with his Father on a regular basis for extended times of communion.
   
3. Scripture reading. We know God’s Word has a great impact on our ability to connect with Christ. God speaks to us through His Word.
   
4. Talking to God (prayer); God cares about every thought and emotion we have and wants us to share openly with Him. He wants to be our best friend, confidant, mentor, advisor, and teacher. It is up to us to put ourselves in a position for that to occur. He will not force us to spend time with Him.
   
5. Listening to God (meditation); God wants us to dwell on thoughts and concepts from Him and show us new things through our careful listening to what many describe as His “still, small voice.” For me, He “speaks” in the form of indelible impressions on my soul as I get into a space of communion with Him.
   
6. Capturing lessons; God wants us to remember what He teaches us in our times with Him. For me, that involves journaling about these experiences. I rarely look back on my notes (what you are reading) but the act of writing things down helps me to remember more than if I didn’t take notes or journal.
   
7. ACTS; covering the elements of “ACTS” in our time with Christ, to ensure that we have a balanced time with God. They are: 1. Adoration; 2. Confession; 3. Thanksgiving; and 4. Supplication.
   
   
   

CONCLUSION
Try having a daily time of quiet communion with Christ. See what happens. And if this is something you want, don’t give up until it becomes a habit. You’ll be glad you did and find yourself even more blessed than you already are.


Your aspiring servant, Daniel M.
February 22, 2024
POSTSCRIPT: Dear friends, if this daily, transparent “Conversations with Christ” blesses you, please go to www.SOLIDpastors.org, where you will find these posted, and a repository of all, in English and Spanish. If you ever want to chat, you can reach me at [email protected]. May Christ bless you richly as you have your own intimate, daily conversations with Christ.