If you want to determine what your current priorities are, locate where you spend the most of your time, money or attention. You could make a list of all the things you hope to accomplish; then determine what category of biblical order it falls under. Then prioritize that list. For example: Let’s say you want a better prayer life. That desire would fall under the God category because your desire has to do with your personal devotion to God.
Since God comes first, this desire is one of the most important. Make sure that your spouse has the same understanding of biblical order so that they agree with your list of priorities.
Make sure your priorities do not become changeable. Changeable priorities are priorities that change from day to day. This often reflects double mindedness. Your priorities should be fixed. Something that you diligently do everyday not based on how you feel at the moment or if it’s a priority for you on that particular day.
Once your priorities are straight and in line with God’s order, schedule your time according. Do your best to keep your schedule but do not get frustrated if you get off track. Be persistent. Make time for the things you can that are on your list. If you are diligent with what you have time for, God will grant you more time to accomplish the things that are on your list that you literally don’t have time for.
Remember it’s not always about quantity of time but rather quality of time. So don’t beat yourself up if the only time you have to dedicate to prayer is 30 minutes a day. Maybe you need to divide the time you want to spend in prayer up throughout your day. Five or ten minutes in the bathroom each morning. Five or ten minutes in the car on the way to work. Five or ten minutes on your lunch break. Five to ten minutes on the ride home and five to ten minutes before bed. If you do that, your prayer time will equal 25- 50 minutes a day.
Never compare how much time you spend in prayer with someone else. Your pastor may pray 4 hours a day because he or she has the time to spend. But you may only have an hour a day. If you are diligent with the hour, God will honor the time you spend just the same.
Make time for you to do those things that are most important by eliminating the things and people that are unprofitable to your life. Never allow your time spent concerning your spouse, kids, church, work or ministry come before God or interfere with God priority. Never allow your time spent concerning your kids, church, work or ministry, come before or interfere with your spouse priority. Never allow your church, work or ministry come before or interfere with your kid priority. Never allow your work, or ministry to interfere with your church / ministry priority.
If something is interfering with one of your priorities and you can’t prevent it, ask God to make that crooked thing straight. “And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them and not forsake them. (Isaiah 42: 16)”
Remember not to make things or people an idol. If you spend too much time on something that it causes you to neglect something else, you have probably made an idol of it. Some people have made there job an idol. Also remember that it is not God’s will for you to spend too much time with Him, church or ministry that our other priorities go neglected. The key is balance.
When your priorities are in order and you are successful at managing your time which is managing your life you can then petition God for the “stuff” you want.