How To Create A Consistent Quiet Time With God

Overview

If you want to deepen your relationship with the Lord, you need to spend more meaningful quiet time with God.

Spending time with God sounds easy. However, incorporating new habits into your daily routine can be more challenging than you think!

To make things easier, we identified the first steps you need to take to establish the habit of regularly meeting with God.

When you complete these steps, you’ll have the right foundation in place to begin spending more quality time with God!

When Will You Meet With God?

Many people set aside an hour each week to go to church, worship God and connect with the family of God. This is a good thing – something God greatly desires. The Berean Study Bible says:

Let us not neglect meeting together,
as some have made a habit,
but let us encourage one another,
and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
–  Hebrews 10:25 BSB

However, attending church is not the same as spending quiet time with God!

To grow in your faith, you need to spend daily quiet time with God. You need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus.

Reading the Bible, internalizing God’s Word and conversing with God needs to become an integral part of your life.

Thankfully, this isn’t a one-way proposition. Did you know that the Lord wants to spend daily time with you too?

God wants you to know Him intimately. He wants you to experience Him deeply. He desires your friendship. Each day, Jesus extends His personal hand of fellowship to you.

How are you responding?

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, 
I will come in to him and dine with him,
And he with Me.
– Revelation 3:20 NKJV

If a friend invited you to dinner, you would eagerly schedule a time and date to meet them. You’d place it on your calendar. You’d look forward to your time with them with great anticipation.

Shouldn’t you do the same for God?

Put First Things First

Identify the best time for you to meet with God each day and schedule it on your calendar. Pick a time when you can give God your full attention. There is no right or wrong time to meet with God. Pick the time that works best for you!

Here’s some examples of how different people schedule their quiet time with God to best meet their needs:

• My husband likes to begin his day by reading Scripture. When he starts his day with God, he finds the Lord equips him to face whatever challenges the day holds!

• One of my gal pals spends her lunchtime with Jesus. She finds it easiest to read her Bible when the kids are at school. When she meets with God during lunch, she enjoys uninterrupted quiet time with God.

• I prefer to read at night. I like to meditate on God’s Word as I fall asleep. When I end the day with God, I find He’s also the first person on my mind when I wake up.

Remember, there isn’t a one-time-fits-all requirement when it comes to reading your Bible and meeting with God. Schedule your time whenever it’s best for you.

Where Will You Meet With God?

Once you’ve decided when you’re scheduling your daily quiet time with God, you need to determine where you’ll meet Him.

Ideally, the best place for you to meet with God is inside of your home. That way, you don’t have to worry about snow, rain, heat or gloom of night keeping you from your quiet time with God!

Find a quiet place in your home that you can set up for this purpose. Seeing environmental cues and having everything you need at your fingertips helps you prepare your heart and mind to hear from God.

However, if you are unable to meet with God in your home for whatever reason, God understands! Sometimes we go through seasons that require extra flexibility and out-of-the-box thinking when we plan. If you’re going through one of those seasons right now, then here are a few suggestions for you:

• If you have a demanding job and a long commute, perhaps listening to the Word of God as you drive back and forth from work is the perfect time to prepare for and unwind from your day.

• If your home environment isn’t as conducive to God-time as you’d like, perhaps finding a quiet spot near your home or listening to God on your daily walk works better for you.

• If you are in need of a change of scenery or extra solitude, consider scheduling a personal retreat or booking a room in a quiet location where you can spend uninterrupted time in the Lord’s presence.

The most important thing to consider when choosing your location is to pick a place where you can meet regularly, safely and consistently!

Eliminate The Distractions

Once you have identified a time and place to meet with God, be prepared for the enemy to do his best to distract you during this time. Identify your weak points. Plan in advance how you will resist him!

• Based on the time and place you are meeting, ask yourself: What environmental distractions are most likely to interfere with your quiet time?

• If you live in a home filled with bustling activity and people who could burst in on you at any moment, set boundaries. Explain what you’re doing. Put up a Do Not Disturb sign to signify that you’re spending quiet time with God. Schedule your time with God around their schedules whenever possible.

• If you are easily distracted by phones, emails and social media, turn off your devices during this time, Read from a physical Bible instead of an online one to help you further minimize distractions as well!

In addition to environmental distractions, the enemy frequently tries to dissuade us from spending quiet time with God in ways we may not even recognize! To learn more about his tactics and how you can circumvent them, read Why Is Spending Time With God So Hard?

Next Steps

Spending regular quiet time with God is essential to your spiritual health.  To help you complete these steps and develop a quiet time plan of your own, we wrote First Things First: Making God A Priority In Your Life. Be sure to grab your complimentary copy today!

Share Your Thoughts

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to reading the Bible and developing a consistent quiet time with God? Leave a comment so that we can encourage you and help you grow!