In all the busyness of life, I've found that it's easy to neglect
the one thing that will help me to live a busy life effectively: a
growing relationship with God. I've struggled with this, so, as part of the Works For Me Wednesday blog carnival at Rocks in My Dryer, I'd like to
share how I'm dealing with it.
What's a quiet time?
I define a "quiet time" as time spent reading and responding to God's Word while enjoying His Presence.
Using this definition, a quiet time is not:
- In-depth Bible study.
This may be a touchy subject for some. I'm all about Bible study. Standing in the Bible study aisle at Lifeway
would cause me to drool if I were less concerned about my mental health
reputation. As a matter of fact, I was just there yesterday and bought No Other Gods to participate in an online summer Bible study over at Beth Moore's blog. (The study looks like it's going to be fantastic, by the way.) And I have certainly heard God speak during in-depth Bible study. But let me say from personal experience that in-depth Bible study is
no replacement for simply reading Scripture and allowing the Holy
Spirit to teach me.
- Reading a Christian book other than the Bible.
I'm an avid reader and love to be surrounded by books. While other
children played outside, I allowed my muscles to atrophy while making
my way through the Nancy Drew series. I currently have a shelf and a
half of books that I'm just itching to get to. But while those books
may teach me a lot about God, they are no replacement for hearing directly from God through His Word.
- Listening to Christian music.
I couldn't live without music. I'm a former band geek and current
shower worship singer. I'm even married to a musician. But the point of
a quiet time is to have God's words running around in my head and
responding to them, and not to listen to someone else doing that. Sometimes I enjoy having a little worship music going on in the background during my quiet time, but it could be a distraction.
In-depth
Bible study, Christian literature, and good Christian music are
wonderful and time-worthy investments. But they should be experienced
in addition to and not in replacement of a quiet time.
Ok, I'm convinced. So what do I need?
- Bible
- I've found that The Daily Bible is perfect for a quiet time. It's
separated out into chunks that you can read in a few minutes. If you
use it every day, you'll read through the entire Bible in one year.
This Bible has Scripture in chronological order, meaning that it's more
like reading a story. It also has explanations throughout so that the
reader has a better handle on what's going on. Another bonus is that
chapter and verse references are kept in the margin rather than in the
actual text, eliminating that distraction.
My husband is using The One Year Bible, which has daily readings including passages from the Old and New Testaments, Psalms, and Proverbs. This type of Bible may be good if you need a little change.
The Message Bible
is also good for a quiet time. It's more of a paraphrase of the Bible
and is written in today's language. As I've done in-depth study of
specific verses and compared them with the translation in The Message, I've been impressed with how well this paraphrase communicates the true meaning of the Scripture.
- Journal/notebook
- I use a journal to write out my prayers. Any notebook will do. You
may even just want to put notebook paper into a binder. I like to use a
spiral-bound journal with a verse printed on each page. The verses
chosen for these types of journals are usually encouraging and keep me
in the right frame of mind. And, what can I say, I like a pretty cover.
It's just the girl in me. But there are manly journals, as well!
- Pen - It's best to use a
pen rather than a pencil so that you don't get distracted by a lot of
erasing. It's alright to just cross out a mistake and move on.
- Bookmark
- You'll want to turn to your reading for the day quickly and easily.
You'll not want to start out your quiet time with the frustration of
wondering, "Where was I?" If you choose to use a daily Bible and start
on January 1st, you can refer to the date. But there may come a time
that you miss a day or decide to read a couple of readings in one day,
so a bookmark will be handy.
What's a perfect quiet time place?
Somewhere
quiet and free of distractions. Outside is always nice. In a previous
residence I loved to sit on my second-story balcony and look at the
sky. The moon, clouds, or birds in the sky always helped me to feel
closer to God. I also love to sit at my kitchen table next to a
window to be able to look outside.
You may have a comfortable chair in
your living room or your private study at home that will become your
special spot. The one place that I would avoid is the bed - that's just
too comfortable. It doesn't take long to fall asleep while
praying, which is akin to falling asleep at the dinner table during a date. Doesn't exactly
promote open communication.
I've got my stuff, I've got my spot...now when is a good time?
I've
experimented with the time of day - morning, noon, and night. People
usually recommend the morning, and I have to agree with them despite my
utter disdain for all things early. I'm not a morning person and am not
interested in human interaction before 11am (except for my husband),
but I've found that my mind and heart are at rest in the morning. At
noon (lunchtime) I'm usually distracted by work, and by the time I get
home in the evening I want to just eat and spend time with my husband.
So the morning works best for me, although it all boils down to what
works for you.
Ok, I'm ready. Now what do I do?
- Turn to a blank page in your journal and write the date at the top.
Keeping track of dates in your journal is a great way to see how God is
answering your prayers. Reviewing my prayers and seeing how God was
moving in my life was a major reason that I decided to move into a more
serious relationship with my husband when we were dating. Seeing how
God answered such specific prayers makes me appreciate him more and
know that he was the man God planned for me.
- Pray for God to teach you. Just like that. Simple.
- Turn in your Bible to the reading for the day. You should have this bookmarked.
- Start reading and writing.
Try to immerse yourself in what you're reading. As you're reading,
write down any thoughts or questions that you have in your journal as
if you're talking to God face-to-face. Treat it like a conversation.
Nine times out of ten you'll come across a verse that seems to just
jump out of the page and speak to you directly. Tell God what you're
reading and why it stands out to you. And then just continue to talk to
Him. You may have only a sentence or two to say, or this may open up
the floodgates and have you writing for pages. Pour yourself out to
Him. This is what it is to experience God.
- Complete your reading.
After I'm done reading, I'll usually end my prayer in my journal
thanking God for speaking to me or just saying that I love Him. Or I
may have other things that I want to pray about, so I continue
journaling.
- Leave your bookmark at the beginning of the reading for the next day.
And after?
After a good date with my now husband,
I would come home glowing and more in love than ever. I feel the same
way after a good quiet time. I end it convinced that God loves me and
cares about what's going on in my life...and more in love with Him than
ever. It's a great way to start the day.
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