Quiet Times

What is a Quiet Time?

Every relationship takes time to develop. You have to spend time with someone to take that relationship deeper. It’s no different with our relationship with the Lord. We need to spend time with Him.

There is just no other way. That’s why we encourage every believer to develop the habit of a daily time with God. As simply as I know how to put it, a quiet time is time alone with Lord. If we do not spend time cultivating that one-on-one relationship with Him, we will eventually feel spiritually disconnected from Him, out of touch, restless, dissatisfied and unfulfilled. After a while we will begin drifting away and no longer be influenced by His presence in our lives.

The fact is we all desire a closeness with God but often aren’t experiencing it simply because we aren’t spending time with Him. After a while we say to ourselves, “I’m the same old person I’ve always been.” “I’m not changing.” “My relationship with the Lord is stale and stagnant.” That’s why each day we need to set aside time to spend with the Lord in Bible reading and prayer in order to deepen our knowledge and love for Him that will result in real life change. When I find myself worrying, it’s an indication that I am not spending time with the Lord. When I find my mind wandering or my heart hardening to the things of God, it’s again, an indication that I am not spending time with the Lord.

 

The primary goal as growing Christians is to become “conformed to His likeness” (Rom. 8:29). Another word for conformed is “transformation” which means “life change from the inside out.” We can change a behavior or an attitude on the outside, but to change on the inside takes inner transformation. Whatever is going on in your heart will be mirrored by your actions. No one can fake it for long. To change the inside takes a deeper relationship with the Lord. What we also desire for is congruence. We don’t want to live one way in public and another way in private. It takes time with the Lord to bring these two into more alignment and consistency.

There are three elements of an effective quiet time:

• Bible reading

• Prayer

• Journaling.

Bible Reading

Spend 10 - 15 minutes each day reading your Bible. Choose a Bible that you find easy and enjoyable to read; e.g. The New International Version (NIV).

Choose a book of the Bible and read one chapter every day. A good place to start is with the Gospel of John.

Start at the beginning of the Bible and read one chapter in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament every day; you could optionally include one Psalm and one Proverb.

Purchase a Bible that is designed for daily quiet times; i.e. The One-Year Bible, Women's Devotional bible, the NIV Application Study Bible, and many more.

 

You might want to include a biblically based devotional during this time--such as:

• "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers,

• "Until He Comes" by Calvin Miller,

• "Morning and Evening" by Charles Spurgeon,

• "Grace for the Moment" by Max Lucado,

• "Movements by the Savior" by Ken Gire,

• "Boundless Love" by Women of Faith Ministries, and many more.

Choose a topic of the Bible and read various passages that relate to that topic. You might choose Christ-likeness, love, joy, patience, compassion, obedience, prayer, God's word, or any other topic. You can find the verses in a Naves Topical Bible. Also look up a word like growth (spiritual) in a Bible Dictionary and read all the verses that list.

 

Whatever you choose, make sure to always be reading God's Word. There is no substitute for the Bible. You can't read the newspaper and come away blessed by God. While you are reading, be open to how the Lord would speak to you. Be careful not to turn your daily quiet time into only Bible study. Remember, this is an appointment with the Savior. He wants to meet with you and relate with you. This is a personal time of relationship building with Jesus. Let the word speak to you as you read and reflect.

 

Prayer Time

Begin and end your daily time with prayer. At the beginning of your time, pray for God to open your mind and heart to what He has to say (Psalm 119:18) and that you will discover new insights from His Word. Pray for protection from distractions and attacks from Satan. At the conclusion of your time with Him, pray that what you have learned will sink deep into your heart today.

 

After you have spent some time opening your heart to God's word, close your time with prayer. Here are some suggestions of things you might want to pray about (see also "Elements of Prayer"):

• Things you saw in the passages you read

• How you are feeling

• The events of the day

• Praising God for who He is (This is very important - Psalms offers many examples of prayer about who God is. See Psalm 145)

• Thanking Him for things you've seen Him do

• Confessing things that are amiss in your life (Psalm 139:23 "Search me, O God, and know my heart")

• Needs and desires for yourself and others, including your Bible study group

• Silent time to listen to God

Prayer is vital to deepening our intimacy with God. Don't overlook this important part of your daily time!

 

Journaling and Bible Note-Taking

Journaling is simply writing your thoughts and reflections about your life and relationship with the Lord in a notebook. Spend some time writing your thoughts as you spend time with God in His word and prayer. It can be as simple as writing what's on your heart. You can write about what God is teaching you in your Bible reading time. You can also write about how you are feeling and struggling with. Develop the habit of writing. This habit reinforces what God is trying to tell you in your mind and heart. It is a way for you to remember what God is revealing to you during that time. Look back and see what God is telling you. What have you forgotten and need to be reminded? Do you see any patterns or consistent themes?

 

As you develop and build this time each day, consider writing notes and thoughts from your time in a journal. What did you learn? How are you feeling about what you are learning? What is God saying to you?

 

As you read your Bible passage for the day, spend some time contemplating the deeper things from God's word. Answer three questions of the text you are reading:

• What does the passage say?

• What does this passage mean?

• And, what do I do based on this passage?

Let me explain how to answer these three questions. First, make some observations about the passage. Ask the who, what, where, why, and how questions. Just make as many observations of the text as you can. Second, decide what this passage means. You can do that by completing this sentence. "This passage is teaching me about _____________." You should be able to confirm your statement by what is written in the passage. Third, determine what you are specifically going to do as a result of reflecting on this passage and its meaning.

 

Here are some other suggestions of things you can write about:

• What you have just read in the Bible. Write down your insights and impressions from the Word. Write down a verse or verses that were especially meaningful to you as you read.

• Any thoughts or impressions that God gave you as you were spending time with Him.

• Frustrations, fears, experiences, and events that have happened in your life that are especially significant to you.

• Prayer requests and desires of your heart.

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