We keep careful track of our appointments. The doctor, the dentist, the lawyer, the professor’s office hours, we write them on the calendar, set a reminder, and show up, often ten minutes early with our paperwork in hand. We wouldn’t dream of not showing up for the dentist. We’d never casually skip a meeting with our attorney. These appointments matter to us, so we honor them.
But what about our appointments with God?
Do we even make them? Is there a set time when we say, “This hour belongs to my Father”? And if we do make that appointment, are we as faithful to keep it as we are with the dermatologist? Are we excited when the hour comes or do we scroll past it, tell ourselves we’ll catch up later, and quietly reschedule the Lord to “whenever I get a free minute”?
Scripture shows us people who kept their appointments with God with urgency. David wrote, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17). That’s not a vague hope to pray “sometime.” That’s a calendar entry, kept three times a day, without fail. Daniel kept his appointment too, even under threat of the lion’s den: He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime (Daniel 6:10). Daniel didn’t reschedule when it became inconvenient. He kept the appointment he had always kept.
Jesus Himself modeled this. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed (Mark 1:35). If the Son of God needed a standing appointment with the Father, so do we.
Here’s the truth: We teach people how to treat us by what we show up for. If we’re consistently late or absent for time with God, we’ve quietly communicated that He is optional. But when we guard that appointment the way we guard a court date, something shifts. We stop treating prayer as leftover time and start treating it as sacred time.
This week: Pick your hour. Write it down like you would any other appointment. Show up early. Come expecting to meet with Him because He is already there, waiting.
Prayer: Father, forgive me for the appointments I’ve broken with You. Teach me to treasure time with You the way I treasure every other commitment on my calendar. Make me faithful, expectant, and on time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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