I grew up in church hearing about "God time" a lot. If I'm being honest, it was never explained in a way that sounded any sort of interesting to me:
Wake up way too early. Memorize a verse. Pray for at LEAST an hour.
And let's be real, the phrase "God time" is a bit…restrictive for the creator of the universe isn't it? I mean, as a married man, I don't have "Wife Time", that's ridiculous. Even if my wife is not physically present with me, she is "always with me and everything I have is hers" to quote Jesus himself about the way He runs His household.
I digress...
I may be off base, but that early morning God time didn't sound very dynamic to me as a kid. That's not the way I show passion or affection for anything. I'm not a morning person. Waking up super early to spend time with The Lord is giving Him the worst of myself, which I'm sure is totally cool and He could use that but just as in any relationship, I want to be present, I want to dialogue, I want to be engaged.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a night owl through and through. As soon as 11pm hits, I'm inspired and eager to learn. What I've learned is that in those times, I'm more likely to meditate on whatever passage of scripture or book I read, I'm more likely to be honest and vulnerable with God about my day and I then am going to sleep with God-filled, God-sized dreams and when I wake up, my heart is filled with the things God and I shared from the night before.
I will say this, the older I get, the more I recognize how crucial the morning is in our walk with God. I believe the reason that spending time with God in the morning is so encouraged (which isn't rarely explained well) is because it COST you something. Sleep. A very precious commodity.
So the way I spend time with God in the morning is NOT reading or even praying, because the likelihood is that I won't retain the exchange as well, I turn on some music and just give Holy Spirit permission to do work with and in me that day. I go into my day with a greater and deeper awareness and understanding of His partnership with me. Certainly doesn't make things perfect, but it makes things better. It points me to life.
My advice to anyone about finding a rhythm in your relationship with God is to understand your own personal rhythms in the day and allow the Lord to be present in it all.
It's not going to look like everyone else's because you were fearfully and wonderfully made and He loves that about you and is aware of your idiosyncrasies and wants to not only use them but maximize on them for His purposes. In that, you're going to have to also learn surrender. Just as in a marriage, things come up, you have to adjust, but because you have given that person access to communicate with you, you open yourself up to be available to them at any time regardless of the circumstances. There is going to be times when the Holy Spirit drops something in your heart and You want to be available for whatever that may be.
We are all built with a primal sense of wonder and awe and it is placed there by God, to explore God; His infinite characteristics, each one of them endless. His love, his grace, his kindness, his justness...
May you allow your time with God to open you up to abundant life rather than religious ritual; it is there, that you will find Him.