Can't Talk Now, Too Busy

I have heard it said once that BUSY can stand for Being Under Satan's Yoke. What does that mean to you?
When someone asks me what I have been up to lately, I find myself telling them often that I am "busy," or that I am "too busy" to do something. That something is usually spending time with God. I make excuses. "I can't read my bible/pray right now, I have to make dinner (or fill in some other activity that could most likely wait.)" I think about all the things I do during the day: work, check e-mail, check Facebook, check the weather, check other websites, etc. Once you add up all that stuff, there seems to be very little time left for God.
I heard a quote today from Pastor John Piper - "One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove on the last day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time." Reread that statement. I don't spend a ton of time on Facebook, but I probably spend more time on it than I do with God.
I am a creature of habit and routine. A typical day for me looks like this:

7:15am - wake up and get ready for work
7:45am - leave for work
8am - arrive at work
8am-8:15am - check various e-mail accounts, Facebook, weather, etc.
9am - eat breakfast
9:15ish-1pm - work stuff, occasionally taking breaks to check e-mail Facebook and other stuff
1pm-2pm - lunch (most days)
2pm-4pm - more work stuff
4pm - leave work and head home
4:15pm - arrive at home
4:15pm-anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30 - veg out, watch TV, talk to Evan
5:30ish - start dinner
6 or 6:30pm - eat dinner
7pm - watch Jeopardy with Evan
7:30pm and onward - watch TV, possibly go somewhere, talk to Evan, go on the computer to check e-mails, Facebook, etc.
Sometime during the evening - take a shower
11pm - go to bed
1am - lights out

That is the routine I am used to, and it has been that way for a little more than 3 years. Of course, weekends are different, but this is the usual M-F routine for me. Doesn't seem like there would be too much room for God in there does it? (You may also notice, there isn't much time for exercise either). Well, in a way, I have purposely made it that way. I get thrown off when I do something "outside" of my normal routine. If I tried to spend time with God before work, that may mean I have to wake up earlier that 7:15. My lunch hour is never consistent, so it wouldn't be the best time to spend with God. When I get home I am tired, and I want to relax and unwind by watching TV or talking to Evan. Then we need to eat, so I have to cook dinner - no time there. After that, I have to take a shower and watch all my shows. No time for God there either. Once that's all done, it's time for bed and I am too tired to talk to God at all. I'm just too busy!
Does any of this sound familiar? Do you say the same things to yourself? Are you "too busy" for God?

Back in May, I put myself on a bible reading plan that would take me through the bible in one year. It helps me to have daily reminders that I have to read the bible. They say it takes doing something 20 times to make it into a habit. I have officially made this a habit, and I love it. The actual time of day I spend reading my bible varies from day to day. Sometimes I have a few minutes before work to read a few chapters, sometimes I read during work or on my lunch break, sometimes I read after dinner. But the point is, I do it. I have even gotten so excited about it, that I am going beyond what the daily reading might be because I just want to be immersed in the Word. Proverbs 2 says: If you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
The only way to come closer to God is to read His Word for yourself and ask him for wisdom and understanding. You must also pray.

My prayer life is another thing that I claim to be "too busy" for. Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek church says that prayer is unnatural for us. It's not something we as humans are used to doing. We are accustomed to talking to people whom we can see and hear. For me, prayer also doesn't fit in my daily routine. There's no time. The bible says that when we pray, we are to go in a room, shut the door, and pray alone with nothing to distract us. Who has time for that? I've got to get to work! I've got to go to bed! I've got to...you get the idea. Occasionally, I will pray if I'm concerned about something, or if I've got a big meeting coming up, or something like that. So, I generally feel like I only talk to God when I need something. That's not the relationship we are supposed to have with God. I try to think of my relationship with God the way my relationship is with Evan, (Or at least, that's how I want it to be). I can talk to Evan about anything, I feel comfortable with him, I love spending time with him, in fact there is no one in the world I would rather be with than Evan. That's where I want my relationship with God to be. Right now, God is more of an acquaintance to me. He's like a relative that I only see a few times a year. I love him, but we don't talk all that much.

Gosh, the time I have spent writing this blog could have been time spent in the Word and in prayer. But we are constantly filling our lives with "busy work" and we are not leaving any time for God. Take stock of your own life. Seriously, write it out and add up the numbers. How many hours (or minutes) do you spend on your computer every day? How much time do you spend at work? How many hours of TV do you watch everyday? How many hours do you spend sleeping typically? Now how much time do you spend reading the bible? Praying?

Is God getting the lesser of your time? I am not saying that doing other things is bad, but I am saying that the less time you spend with God, the less of a relationship you will have with him. What can you cut out today? What can you do to make God the #1 priority in your life? Or are you too busy to think about it...