Part 1 of the 4 week series: ‘Making Room for God‘
focus verse: Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
IT’S ABOUT PRIORITY – NOT FLEXIBILITY
Many of us would say we want more of God in our lives.
More peace. More clarity. More connection.
We were created to crave intimate fellowship with our creator – Elohim.
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord ~ 1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV)
And yet, many of us feel rushed, distracted, and even spiritually crowded.
Wanting God close requires making room for Him in our lives, our thoughts…our priorities.
There’s a common teaching in the world of time management that says ‘leave margin in your day’. It means to leave space in your daily planner that allows you to be flexible and ‘breathe’ between commitments. When we approach intimacy and time with God with the ‘leave margin’ mindset, it assumes He’ll fit into the margins – early mornings if we wake up on time, quiet moments between commitments, prayers whispered when everything else is handled.
Margin assumes God fits around our life. This isn’t wrong—but it isn’t transformational.
Making room assumes He belongs at the center of it. When we shift from leaving space to making room for intimacy with God, it becomes intentional – impactful – life changing.
- Leaving space is passive.
- Making room for God requires intention.
It means allowing Him to shape our pace, our decisions, and our direction—rather than asking Him to bless it after the fact.
When our calendars are crowded and our yeses are rushed, intimacy is often the first thing squeezed out. Not because we don’t care—but because urgency is loud and intimate relationship requires stillness.
Let me say that again over the noise…
Urgency is loud and intimate relationship requires stillness.
NURTURING AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Making room for God isn’t about discipline—it’s about relationship.
Let’s be clear – the goal is intimate fellowship with God. The steps to reach that goal start with the discipline of intentionally making room to nurture and grow in fellowship with God, learning to recognize His voice, and align with His thoughts and plans.
This series is an invitation to stop squeezing God into the margins—and begin making room for Him on purpose.
Not by doing more.
But by pausing first.
That’s where transformation begins and where intimate fellowship with God grows.
Hair Fire Check
When urgency crowds out intimacy.
Use these prompts to guide a conversation with God this week:
- Where in my life am I relying on margin instead of intention?
- What feels loud or urgent right now—and how might it be competing with intimacy?
- Where have I been asking You to bless my plans instead of inviting You to shape them?
- Where have my yeses become rushed rather than prayer-led?
Sit in conversation with God. Journal what He reveals. Pause. Write honestly. No fixing—just noticing.
Heart Fire Moment
From margin to center
Intimacy with God grows when He moves from being fit in to being sought first.
Making room for God shifts our posture.
We stop chasing peace and begin receiving it.
We stop asking God to keep up and instead allow Him to lead.
When God sets the pace, clarity replaces chaos—and alignment replaces overwhelm.
A heart fire stays lit when intimacy fuels our yeses, not urgency.
Sit with God on this question and see where He takes the conversation:
- What would change if God truly had first place in my time, decisions, and attention?
- Extend the conversation: Apply this question to the new awareness you gained in your hair fire journaling questions.
Put It In Practice: MAKING ROOM
Pause before you proceed
This week, practice seeking first in one simple, intentional way:
- Before committing to anything new, take a two-minute time out.
- Ask: God, what do You see that I don’t?
- Invite Him to shape your response before you say yes, or no.
Places to start practicing:
- As you look at your calendar of upcoming commitments, do you see opportunities for an alignment or prioritizing conversation with God?
- Looking at upcoming plans or decisions, do you see opportunities to practice pausing and seeking before acting or deciding?
This isn’t about adding another spiritual task.
It’s about changing the order.
Pause.
Seek.
Then move forward.
PRAYER STARTER [A CONVERSATION WITH GOD]
This prayer is meant to be experienced, not rushed.
Let God read to you the featured verses from today’s post and respond in a heartfelt conversation.
Where you see [_], insert your name.
Matthew 6:33 & 1 Corinthians 1:9
[_] seek Me. Seek Me first above all other things. Ask Me about my kingdom plans before making your plans.
[_] Because I created you for intimate fellowship with Me through Jesus, everything you desire and need starts with pursuing Me first.
RESPOND…
Take a moment to respond to God reading His Word to you.
Sit in conversation with Him and meditate on what He’s revealing about His pursuit of your heart.
Closing Thought:
This week, resist the pressure to fit God in.
Practice using Two-Minute Timeouts and let Him lead instead.
Making room for Him isn’t about rearranging your schedule—it’s about reordering your heart. And when He comes first, everything else begins to find its place.
Daily conversations to deepen your faith…
Conversations at a Table for Two: Feeding a Hungry Soul.
Find it on Amazon. [book details and video tutorial here]
Video
Tami, what you say is so true and with this new year I’m trying to prioritize God’s time. When I am sidetracked from doing my plan because of exhaustion or anything I am taking time to Be Still and Know the Lord. Stillness is not doing nothing but is an activity of letting go, relaxing, letting down your guard, relinquishing control and sitting with all the shortcomings and undone things in your life. So this week as I recover from Upper Respiratory Infection and need more time to rest I am not bemoaning the lost time to complete my to do list but giving this time to God, knowing my limitations, letdowns and all the undone things and giving God control over my life and inviting Him to reveal Himself to me.
Hi Gail… love that you share how being still is the act of letting go! That word for being still is often translated as cease striving, so when you say ‘relinquishing control’- you nailed it! I LOVE how God makes this a vital part of being in relationship with Him. Excited to see what God is working so hard to show you and tell you as He brings you in to His stillness!