Did you try setting aside just five minutes for Bible reading and prayer? This single decision can seem really huge when you are trying to make the time. It can seem like a real frustration if you decide to do and then fail the first or second or third time you try. A mere five minutes seems like something you ought to be able to do just any time.

Unfortunately, “any time” never comes.

When you think you could carve out five minutes whenever you like, so you never commit to anything, you will discover that there is never even five minutes you can take for yourself.

How do you isolate and protect just five minutes? I know it is hard. It wasn’t easy when I started, but I learned. The first step is to commit to do it. Promise yourself you will find five minutes. It hurts when you make a promise to yourself and don’t keep it. So promise yourself.

For many people it is easiest to find that five minutes at the start of the day. Some people find it easier to set aside time right before they go to bed. Some even find it during their lunch break. Know yourself. Pick something and commit to it.

For many people, having a consistent location helps. When I was traveling for work, it was hard to have anything very consistent. After a while, I developed an unpacking routine, and part of that routine was to set my Bible and my devotional book on the table beside the chair in my hotel room. Every time I was in the room, I saw them lying there. As soon as I got out of bed in the morning, I saw them lying there. While I made coffee I laid out my clothes for the day. When coffee was ready, I poured a cup and sat down for my five minutes. It isn’t important what routine or what location or what time you pick. The important thing is to figure out when to do it and how to prompt yourself to do it every day.

If you have been thinking that you need to read your Bible more, you are right. If you have told yourself you need to pray more often, you do. You don’t have to make a huge change in your life in order to start. The big changes happen later, after you get to know God better. For now, think of it as a five minute visit with the One who loves you so much that He died for you.

Let me know how it goes.