6 Steps to Make Quiet Time With God a Routine
Are you wanting to create a habit of having quite time with God each day? Spending time with God is the most important thing for spiritual growth. Our world is noisy and busy, but today we are going to talk about how to make daily quiet time with God a priority.
Whether you are a morning person or a night owl, spending time with God is one of the spiritual disciplines in our faith journey.
Doing this consistently happens over time like any other habit you are trying to start in your life.
The key is to just start. Bring what you have to God, whether it is 5 minutes before the kids get up, or an hour before getting ready to start the day. I promise you won’t regret it.
What does quiet time with god mean?
Having quiet time with God means that you have a dedicated uninterrupted time in God’s presence.
Quiet time with God can look different in different seasons of life.
It’s important to note that having a quiet time routine does not mean lighting candles and having the perfect color-coded neutral themed highlighters like we often see on social media. Please hear me, I love all of that.
But, that is not what we are striving for. I just want you to set up real expectations for your daily devotional time. Because here is the thing, we are not just trying to make our Bibles look pretty and well color coded.
We are seeking a personal relationship with our Creator, and a practice to hear God’s voice speak to us in our daily lives.
Quiet time with God is an intentional time that you have to spend alone with Him. It is taking time out from the busyness of life and focusing your attention on Him.
Bible verses about spending time with God
Mark 1:35
While the Bible does not tell us specifically when we must have our quiet time with God, it does make reference to the morning hour.
Mark 1:35 tells us the “very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place; and there He was praying” (CSB).
Jesus arose early and left to find a secluded place for prayer time. This came after Jesus spent the night prior healing the sick and cleansing people of demons.
Whether you choose the early morning or late at night for your personal quiet time, the best time is the one that will allow a consistent habit to develop in your life.
Psalm 5:3
Another verse that speaks of the morning hour, is one of my personal favorites.
In Psalms 5:3, David is praying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly” (CSB).
Again, the Bible is not telling us we have to have daily devotions in the morning. This verse is showing us the intentionality David had in going before the Lord in his daily life. This is relationship.
As women we juggle many things and many of us have a busy schedule. Being in the presence of God is a wonderful way to refresh our souls and learn more about who God is and His will for our life.
Benefits of quiet time with God
There are so many benefits of having a daily routine of time with God. Here are a few that come to mind and that I have seen work in my own life.
Spending time with God quiets your heart
Getting quiet before the Lord and seeking Him strengthens our relationship with Him. It also allows us to sit quiet in His presence so He can speak to us.
If you’re like me, you go nonstop all day with either work, taking care of your home, your family, or other relationships that are meaningful to you. I don’t know about you but all of those good things can leave us feeling depleted.
We also live in a world that is full of distractions competing for our attention. We need a daily refresh to soak in God’s presence and quiet the noise around us so He can fill the depleted parts of our soul. Doesn’t that sound amazing?
Learn more about God through His Word
Like any relationship with someone we love, we learn more about them by spending time with them. Same is true about our daily quiet time with God routine.
Through His Word, He tells us of His faithfulness to His people. We learn of His redemption plan for us and how He chose broken people to do great things.
From cover to cover we see God’s heart revealed through Scripture. Learn more about God by spending time in the Bible and grow stronger in your relationship with HIm.
Renew your mind in God’s Word
The Bible tells us in Romans 12:2, “do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (CSB).
How do we renew our mind? By quiet time, prayer, and Bible intake. These spiritual disciplines help our minds and thought patterns to be cleansed and reshaped to conform to what is good and pleasing to God.
Having a mind that is renewed each day allows us to have the discernment of what is good so we can easily identify what is not good and what does not please God.
When faced with challenges that come our way throughout the day, we are then able to recognize light from darkness because we have allowed God to change the way we think.
Let His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit change you on the inside and renew your mind.
Shifts your focus from yourself and your situation to God and His plan
Let’s face it, as long as we are on this side of Heaven we will face trials and tribulations. The Word of God tells us that.
But Jesus also says the He has overcome the world. That’s good news, friend!
However, when you are in the middle of a hardship it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s difficult to not want to be in control and fix things ourselves and in our own timing.
Yet when we come before God in our quiet time we can release our burdens to Him and surrender our will to Him and welcome His plan. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says “Come to Me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (CSB).
If you’ve not practiced regular, intentional alone time with God, I highly encourage you to start today. Because there is no rest like the rest He provides.
What are some quiet time examples?
If having an effective quiet time with God is something new for you, you may be wondering what do I do?
Whether you are a new Christian or you’ve known Jesus for a while, here are some ideas of how to spend your time with God.
Bible Study
God’s Word is the best place to start your new habit. You can start with a Bible reading plan or a small passage of Scripture to study and go deeper with.
Spend time in prayer
You can also use this time to talk with God in prayer and let Him speak to you.
A prayer journal is a great way to keep track of how God has answered your prayers and lets us recall how He has demonstrated His faithfulness. Journal what God is speaking to you
Journal what God is speaking to you
Speaking of journaling, it is always a good idea to have a pen and paper with us in our quiet time with God.
This is the best way to capture what He may be speaking to you.
Read a devotional book
There are many really good devotions out there to help you grow in your spiritual life. I would however use caution with this so that you are not replacing God’s Word with a devotional that is written by man.
I fully believe that God can use these tools to speak to us, but we want to make sure we are also going straight to the source, the Bible.
Spend time in worship
I will be the first to admit that I am no singer. That is just one talent that God did not pick me for. I am okay with that. But, he did give me a voice and I love to use it to worship Him.
He has been so faithful and I can’t help but worship and adore Him for who He is. Whether you can sing or not, turn on your favorite worship songs and begin to life your voice to Hm in your time with Him.
I guarantee you will leave feeling refreshed and more in love with God after you’ve had some worship music on and you’ve been in His presence.
Give praise and thanksgiving
Similar to worship, offering praise and thanksgiving helps us focus on the goodness of God and all He has done in our life.
You can use a gratitude journal to help record your thankfulness to God and that is a wonderful treasure that can be passed on to a child or someone you love.
Gratitude and thankfulness makes what we have more than enough.
Sit quiet and listen to God speak
I’ve mentioned a few ideas for you to try for your quiet time with the Lord. But, it is perfectly fine for you to just sit still in God’s presence and listen to Him speak to you.
In fact, it is more than fine, its necessary.
I would dare say that we don’t do this often enough. It is hard to hear the voice of God going about our busy days. That is not to say we can’t, but sometimes we just have to get quiet and still and listen for a bit.
6 practical Ways to start a quiet time alone with God
I want to encourage you that there is no wrong or right way to create a daily time with God routine.
Take any pressure off yourself that you may have.
Use these recommendations as a guide to encourage you in this new habit, but don’t feel that you have to get them all right from the get go. God will use what you bring Him!
Make it a priority
Prioritizing your time with God above anything else happens with time in your Christian walk.
Like with any relationship, in order for it to grow, it has to be a priority. Soon it will be a habit that you’ll find you can’t live without.
Decide on a consistent time of day
Making a new routine stick takes consistency. Often it is easier if you have a consistent time of day to have your time with God because it is already set rather than trying to figure out when you have the time.
If it is the morning time or evening that works best, go ahead and schedule it in your planner. Just be as consistent as possible.
Choose a quiet place that is comfortable
My go to place to have time with Jesus is our big cozy chair in the living room. This works best for me as I get up pretty early in the morning before anyone else is up.
Think of the best location for you and make that your designated quiet time area.
In the winter months you can grab a cozy warm blanket and go before the Lord in your solitary place.
Gather your supplies in one place
To keep things easy and simple, I recommend having a basket or box with your devotion time.
This can include items like your Bible, highlighters, pens, journals, AirPods or head phones for music, and if needed, reading glasses.
Having all of these things close by and in one place will eliminate wasted time trying to find your supplies.
Create a distraction free space
Distractions are all around us. The best person to know what distracts you, is you.
Limit those distractions by choosing a place for your quiet time that is not overstimulating. If you have a mountain of paperwork or long to-do list sitting on the desk in your home office, that might not be the best place.
Maybe the kitchen table will work better. Take a look around you and see what is the most calming place in your environment and consider that to be a good location. It could change over time and that is okay too.
Grab your favorite drink
I don’t know about you, but I cannot function in the morning without coffee.
Yes, I admit, I am hooked on coffee but I have cut back to one cup so I am okay with it. Maybe you are not a coffee drinker.
Whatever you enjoy, go ahead and grab that before you get comfortable.
Come with an expectant heart ready to meet with God
The most important thing above all the rest is to come to your quiet time with God with an expectant heart.
He wants to meet with you and He desires a relationship with you that will change your life. Come to Him eager to learn about Him.
Find Him in His Word, He is there waiting!
I pray this has been an encouragement for you as you develop a habit of spending quality time with Jesus. How do you have good quiet time with God. Comment below or let me know at karen@simplygracetoday.com, I’d love to know.
