How to Have Quiet Time With God
Have you ever heard someone talk about their quiet time with God?
Do you ever wonder what that means, or if you do, how to defeat distraction, be organized, and grow in your relationship with the Lord during your quiet time?
Quiet time is a way to connect with God, grow in our faith, develop discipline, and have a deep relationship with our Heavenly Father that is so needed every single day.
What exactly is a quiet time, and why do we need it?
Quiet time with God is a set time to to pray, study the Bible, reflect, and connect one on one with the one who created us.
This isn’t something that we do just to be able to check it off of our to-do list. This quiet time with God is where we give Him our full attention, with no other distractions.
It’s a time where we are able to come closer to him, listen to Him, talk to Him, learn about Him, and overall form a strong relationship with Him.
Connecting with God through prayer, and studying the Bible allows us to be rooted in Christ, and that is when our faith in Him grows! This is how we build our lives on Him.
“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.“-Colossians 2:7
This time with God allows us to set our eyes on Heavenly things instead of worldly things.
As we study the Bible, we gain knowledge, and direction on how to live a life righteous in his eyes.
Through prayer, we can bring to Him our fears, anxieties, and any requests you have to His feet. We also get to thank Him for all He has done, and will do in our lives.
This brings about a peace, courage, boldness, knowledge and a closeness that is so important and detriment to our relationship with Him.
Long story short, quiet time with God is connecting with Him through prayer, and studying His Word, and is a time where we give Him our full attention.
What tools are helpful and needed, and how to use them for quiet time with God?
There are a few things you can use, and need during your quiet time with God.
1. The Bible
The Bible is by far the most important thing that you need during your quiet time.
Without studying, and meditating on His Word there is no way that we can truly know God and know how to live a life that glorifies him.
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” –2 Timothy 3:16
When we read the Bible we develop an understanding of God’s character.
There are so many people who have asked ‘How can I hear God’s voice?’, well, this is it! The Bible is the best way to hear God loud and clear! Whenever you need direction, the Bible is the best thing to turn to, along with prayer!
Studying His Word helps us know exactly what is righteous in His eyes, and what is not. Knowing His Word is crucial to living a life that pleases Him.
The Bible I have and love is the Dayspring NLT Bible! I love the NLT translation because it’s easier for me to understand and truly be able to study the Bible. Not only is it gorgeous, and has a hard cover, but this bible has so many amazing features!
It is a red letter Bible, has 52 devotionals, more than 250 encouraging inspirations throughout the pages, wide margins where you can journaling and take notes, and more!
I absolutely love it, and it is an amazing tool that I use and love during my quiet time with God!
2. Devotionals or Bible Studies
There are many times where I have read chapters from the Bible, and have been at a loss. I had no clue what was going on or what it even really meant.
That’s why I love doing Bible Studies! It gives me perspective, gives me more insight, and helps me dive deeper into the Bible.
After doing some Bible Studies, I am amazed at how beautiful the gospel is, and how fascinating it is! One that I absolutely loved and still love and refer to is Seamless Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story by Angie Smith.
It also has video access to watch her videos that go along with the study.
She goes from Genesis (the very first book of the Bible) all the way to Revelation (the last book of the Bible).
I was in tears because I was so amazed that our God orchestrated something so beautifully, and it put the whole Bible into perspective.
Devotionals are good too! Do note that devotionals are written by people who share their thinking and perspectives, and Bible studies are in depth about a particular part of the Bible.
That’s why I love that my Dayspring NLT Bible has devotionals inside it! I love to read those as study my Bible.
3. Journal
Something that has helped me during quiet time with God, is writing out my prayer requests, or my prayers in my journal. This allows me to organize my thoughts, so when I do pray during my quiet time, I am not getting distracted!
It’s a great way to look back months later, or even years later, and see how God moved in all the areas of your life that you have prayed through!
It has been amazing in increasing my faith and amazement at the work of our God. He is so faithful always!
Have you ever been going through a bible study and read something from it that really stuck with you? Or have you read a verse as you are going through a tough season in your life that you know was absolutely meant for you to see at that exact moment? Well I love documenting that in my journal as well!
When should I have quiet time with God?
Almost everything I’ve read about when to have quiet time with God says mornings are best, but my favorite time to spend one on one time with God with zero distractions is in the evenings after my baby goes to sleep.
Through every season of my life the evenings have always been my time to talk to God, and study His Word, even before I was married and had a family. Looking back I have had some of the most beautiful moments with God during these times.
Spending 30 minutes or so of quiet time with God in the evening helps me sleep better, and wake up feeling the same peace that surpasses all understanding that I did when I went to bed.
But if morning is your best time, and favorite time to spend this quiet time with God, then absolutely do it!
There is no set time for when your quiet time should be. As long as you’re disciplined and stick to it!
Side note: I completely agree that starting your day off with God and His word is the best way to start your day. That why I typically pick one verse a week during my quiet time, then meditate on it in the mornings and all throughout the day.
“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” – Joshua 1:8
Quiet time with God is so important and needed, but you have to remember that God is omnipresent.
Meaning that he is everywhere, at all times. So we should seek Him every moment of every day, not just during our quiet time with Him.
I’m also a believer that every single time you have ‘quiet’ time won’t always be quiet. Especially for moms! Like I said, I have a baby. Enough said… during this season of my life, my days are crazy, and I have very little time alone!
So on days that we struggle to go to bed in the evenings, I’ll include her in this time. Now she doesn’t know what’s going on right now since she is so young, but as she is older, I get so excited to think of including her in my quiet time!
I want to model spending quality time with God, and I think it’s detrimental especially in this day and age to do so. I want my daughter to grow to have her own quiet time with God, and I can’t wait to show her what that looks like, and see her do it on her own!
It’s my job as a parent to show my daughter what it is like being rooted in Christ to to grow your relationship with Him.
“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older they will not leave it.” – Proverbs 22:6
Where should I have quiet time?
There are so many different places you could have your quiet time!
Just like there is no set time, there is no set place!
Mine is sitting on my bed. Just like how I’ve always spent my evenings having quiet time with God, sitting on my bed has always been my spot.
I have found that having a specific time, and place you go to at every quiet time really helps you stay focused, and have a routine.
The bible says in Matthew 6:6-7 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.“
It isn’t specific to a place, all it states is go away by yourself, shut the door, and pray in private.
So wherever you can go to do that is a perfect spot!
How to spend quiet time with God?
Now that we’ve covered what quiet time is, what you need for it, when and where you would have it, it’s now time to figure out how to spend this time.
Following a schedule is great! Staying organized in your quiet time with God is a great way to defeat distraction, and stay focused.
These are important elements of quiet time. Feel free to adjust it however you feel like God is leading you. Always follow God’s leading!
Creating your own system is the best way to stick to a disciplined time with God. These are the things I do during my quiet time and the order that I do them, but like I said, if you want to change something around, go for it!
This is your quiet time with God!
1. Pray
Beginning and ending quiet time with God in prayer is wonderful. You can start by asking God to give you a clean heart, and confessing any sin to God.
Psalm 51:10 is a great verse to pray, and one that I pray in the beginning of my quiet time.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
Thank God for all He has done, and will do in your life. Then ask the Lord to show you areas of sin in your life, and for Him to speak, lead, and guide you during your quiet time.
I also love to bring any anxieties, fears or anything that is bothering me to the feet of Jesus in Prayer.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” – 1 Peter 5:7
Before praying I always write down my prayer requests in my journal so I don’t get distracted. This is a beautiful and great journal for that purpose!
2. Read and Study the Bible
This is where you read God’s word, and really dive deep into it. The Bible is where you truly get to know the heart of God!
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sward, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” – Hebrews 4:12
Sometimes I read different scriptures that God leads me to and meditate on what I read. I ask the Lord to help me understand and speak to me about what I just read.
I love having a Bible Study to do during my quiet time though.
Bible studies are so so helpful in keeping me on track, and having something set to study.
A few that are my favorites are:
- Seamless Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story with Video Access by Angie Smith
- Rachel & Leah – Bible Study Book: What Two Sisters Teach Us about Combating Comparison by Nicki Koziarz
- Elijah: Faith and Fire by Priscilla Shirer
3. Journal
This is where you can reflect on what the Lord has spoken to you about, or what you learned during your quiet time with God.
You can write out a verse that resonated with you, something new that you learned that you want to remember, or your prayers. The possibilities are endless with journaling!
I love this journal! It has spots for scriptures and prayers!
4. Pray
Ending quiet time in prayer is a great way to also reflect on what you may have learned, or what really stuck out to you. Pray that you apply what you learned into your daily life, and that you will grasp on to His truths.
Prayer can be however long you feel led to pray. There is no set amount of time to pray, all I know, is that prayer is powerful, and is it’s vital to your communication with God.
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” – James 5:16
In Luke 6:12 it says, “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.“
If Jesus, perfect and Holy Jesus, prayed to God all night, my goodness, that in itself shows how important it is for us to pray and connect with God.
A few books that have really changed my prayer life:
Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
Power of a Praying Mom by Stormie Omartian
Conclusions on How to Have Quiet Time with God
Overall, quiet time with God is when you pray, study the Bible, reflect, and spend quality one on one time with God with no distractions.
Stay focused, stay dedicated, and remember to always let God lead your quiet time.
I really do pray you grow in your faith, and relationship with God!
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