Make an appointment

As I was seeking God in December about this year, I was also very aware of some areas of vulnerability in my life. One such shortcoming was this: I was not as consistent in set-apart prayer time as I had been in the past. Sure, I talked to God on and off throughout the day and enjoyed hearing from Him in the surprising ways He would “drop in on me”, but I knew He was re-directing me to a more focused, disciplined pursuit.

And as He would have it, one of those surprise “drop-ins” came as I was wrapping up reading through the Old Testament in the book of Amos. I read

“Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?” Amos 3:3, NASB

Now this verse is more famously quoted this way: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (KJV) That’s how I’d always heard it preached—we need agreement with one another to accomplish God’s work; we need to be in agreement with God to walk in His ways.

However, this word “appointment” jumped off the page at me. My complacent lethargy concerning daily prayer was in for a makeover! And it all had to do with making an appointment with God.

Here’s how God directed me. He reminded me that I made appointments with the dentist and the doctor—and that I kept those appointments. I also remembered that when I met a friend for coffee, we would text each other ahead of time to confirm our meeting. Basically, the Lord showed me that most of my dealings with others involved appointment making—and by the same token, the way to return to my first love and zeal for Him simply involved making and keeping appointments with Him.

So here’s what I did: Before I would go to bed, I asked the Lord, “What time tomorrow is our appointment?” and I’d hear a time and would agree to meet with Him then. Simple…yet profoundly helpful.

Are you having difficulty finding time to set apart for God? Then call out to Him, set up an appointment, and then show up. Then do it again the next day.

A funny thing started happening soon after I began those appointments…I seemed to blunder into divine appointments and supernatural unfoldings more and more in my everyday life. And then it dawned on me—I was honoring the appointment part of the verse, and God was showing up in the walking together part!

Now don’t get me wrong—I’ve missed an appointment or two since that verse jumped out at me. But I know how to make my way back to Him quickly and to pick back up: I make an appointment and keep it!

Here’s to walking with the Lord persistently and consistently!

Dorothy