Over the years I’ve tried to copy many ways of quiet time, thinking it was the key to spending effective quiet time with God.
I know many people have various ways of doing their quiet times but haven’t always been sure of the right way to spend time in God’s Word.
I’ve recently realized that God doesn’t care what model I follow; whether I’m using the perfect schedule or the right materials.
God wants my heart.
And He wants yours.
“One of the best gifts we can give ourselves is time alone with God.”
Have you gotten stuck wondering exactly how to personalize your quiet time, but are distracted by the noise and tired from the busyness of life?
If you’re like me, you may desire to spend time in God’s Word, but you’re not exactly sure how to make that work.
Please Tell Me I’m Not Alone! Does This Happen to you?
Have you been there? So excited, determined to get in your quiet times, but then struggling with the emotions that come when time is snatched? Your hopes are dashed. You just want the alone time with God but why does it seem so hard?
What is important to you?
The common and constant struggle that I hear from most people is that, “Life is just so busy.” There’s that 4-letterword again – ‘busy”. Yes, I agree, life sure is for sure busy, but I believe that word is overly glorified. I have learned quickly that we make time for what we believe is important to us. For me, holding on tightly to what’s important calls for laser sharp focus. It calls for intentional and frequent evaluation of time, looking closely schedules, and prioritizing what truly matters.
What holds priority in my life is putting God first and leaving a spiritual legacy for my children that they can carry on for generations. My hope is to give them a heavenly perspective and show them that there is more to this life than the things we can merely see. To love hard, to show kindness, and have humble hearts that serve others well.
“Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.” –
Bill Graham, Evangelist
Quiet time doesn’t have to happen in the early in the morning to be effective. It’s important to check your routines and find where to carve in the most likely uninterrupted time. For you, it might be that the most uninterrupted time is at night and that works for you. That is awesome! For me, I have found that the early mornings work best for me, before the kids wake up, that gives me the most uninterrupted time.
So what works for you?
What time of the day best works for you? Find that time and then start your quiet time plan.
“When you take time with God and listen to His voice, He renews your strength and enables you to handle life.” -Unknown
Find Materials That Work for You
If you are a chef, you need good cooking equipment. And a doctor needs the right equipment to do his job.
Indeed, if you want to study God’s Word, and spend time with Him, then it’s very helpful to have the right materials.
In fact, there are many materials available for studying God’s Word.
Here are a few things that I’ve found helpful:
Prayer Journal
A Nice Pen/gel pens/ Flair Pens/notebook/Twistable Crayons
The Bile App
Hot tea/coffee
Give Yourself Grace
There will just be days when you don’t quite measure up.
Some days spending time in God’s Word just isn’t a reality or seems dry.
And that’s okay.
Just do your best not to make a habit of it. Remember that there are always other ways to spend time reflecting on Scripture (audio Bible, podcasts, etc.)
Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or two.
It defeats the purpose!
Hop right back into your schedule as soon as possible, and don’t look back!
Don’t Be Afraid to Try Different Things
To personalize your quiet time, it might mean trying things that aren’t quite as conventional as you may have learned in Sunday School!
Perhaps listening to an audio Bible is the best way to spend time in God’s Word. I didn't know this, but you can listen to different Audio versions of the Bible on the Bible.app. So depending on your style, choose what engages you most!
For me, as a mama of little kids, sometimes it’s just turning on some rockin’ worship music and having a dance party with my kids. Or maybe it watching You Tube videos of various messages that I’ve found profoundly impact me. Or maybe it’s just laying outside on the grass, gazing up at the clouds (with or without my kiddos) and reflecting on all that God has done for our family
Of course, that’s not my normal quiet time, but anything that leads me to reflect on God’s character and who He is, will grow my faith.
Realize That Seasons Change
Thankfully, I know that my quiet time won’t always involve watching YouTube videos or having sporadicdevotional times, fitting them in spurts here and there, but for now that’s the ‘busy’ season that I’m in.
And I know that seasons change.
If you have little kids running around, it can be quite discouraging to feel like you will never get to spend time in the Bible without interruptions. But, there will come a day when you have more than enough time to meditate on Scripture.
Check out this great read on Activities for the kids so the that you can have quiet time with God.
Use this helpful Scripture Journaling Page for the kids to also get involved with bible verses and quiet time with God!
It’s not always kids that make having a quiet time difficult. Perhaps, you have a job that requires crazy hours or responsibilities with family members.
Whatever the case, remember that your life today will likely not look the same way a year from now.
Embrace the fact that seasons change and go with it.
Change it Up
I get bored quickly.
As a result, I’ve found that changing the way I do quiet time helps keep me focused and on track.
I like to try different things and read different passages of Scripture. Now, consistency is important, don’t get me wrong! Writing scripture has also been very beneficial for personalizing my quiet time with God.
Finding new materials, and new ways to have a quiet time, keeps me encouraged and enthusiastic about making quiet time a priority and helps keep it personalized to my likes and needs.
After all, they say, variety is the spice of life!
Change up your quiet time and you might just find that it’s one way to make your time in the Word unique and a specific to you.
Make It a Priority to Meet with God Every Day, But…
Don’t worry if that’s not the same time each day. Just make sure you find a time to spend with God.
Hopefully you can see that the theme here is consistency which is sometimes difficult at various stages of life.
Therefore, I’ve found it helpful to let go of perfection and the thought that I need to have a set and scheduled time to spend with God every day, and that if I don’t get that time, then I might as well forget it. I started adopting the philosophy that if I spend time in God’s Word at some point during the day before I go to bed, then I’m satisfied with that. That is a successful day!
My personalized quiet time routine doesn’t have to fit the mold of everyone else’s.
And neither does yours!
Learn the Spiritual Disciplines
Then practice a new one each week or each month.
Examples: Incorporate scripture memory every week, use flash cards, listen to bible app, install memory apps to help exercise those verses and meditate on them!
Check out this study method I just found to help:
https://asymphonyofpraise.com/blog/the-word-bible-study-method
Go with What Works for You
Personalizing your quiet time will make it more special, meaningful, and effective for you. Don’t worry about whether you fit the mold of everyone else.
Just focus on spending time in God’s Word and watch the results of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life!
How about you? How do you personalize your quiet time? What things have you found helpful for making your quiet time with God effective?
Blessings, Brit