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The concept of “quiet time” was first brought to my attention while I was a new Christ-follower in college.
I was taking my cues on how to pursue Christ from my campus crusading friends and this seemed to be one thing they all stressed: Spending quiet time, alone with the Lord – reading the Bible, praying, and listening for his still small voice. When I was in college I had very structured “quiet time” with the Lord in the morning. I would wake up before everyone else in the dorm and sneak out in the hallway with my Bible and journal (so I wouldn’t wake up my sleeping roommate). I read the Word. I ate up the Word. I memorized scripture. I was moved by the Holy Spirit to follow God like I never had before – it was glorious! I even snuck away for quiet time with the Lord whenever I got a chance (unfortunately for my grades a lot of those chances were supposed to be academic study times!).
After graduation, my quiet time with the Lord morphed a bit.
My Bible reading wasn’t as structured. There were times when I would just lay in bed and pray. Often times my alone time with the Lord occurred in my car while commuting to or from work, or after I got home from work or serving in a ministry. I always had a prayer space set up in my apartment that had maps and scripture and other “prayer aids” hanging up and setting out. I would retreat to my prayer sanctuary and process my days with the Lord. I would travail over the hurting people I encountered in my life. I would pray for the nations. I would confess my own sins and receive the outpouring of forgiveness from God. I experienced joy inexplicable as a result of my time spent with the Lord.
After getting married, my quiet time morphed a lot.
Ever since I got married, my “quiet time” has looked much different than it did in my single days. It looks even more different now that my house has little toddlers trying to rule it. This has been my own fault. Instead of being able to lean into the Lord in a consistent, structured manner, I have been distracted by the handsome hubby I wake up to in the mornings or by the children who had me up during the middle of night. I would rationalize that my continuous conversations with God throughout the day or the occasional scripture reading I did was enough. It was not. I have not experienced the inward fruits of the Spirit or the outward fruits of the Spirit as I once did. I want to get back to that place with the Lord when I pursued Him with crazy adoration. I know it’s possible and I believe that is what I am supposed to be doing.
Getting back into the most fruitful habit.
For the longest time (like 3 years) I didn’t have structured quiet time with the Lord at all. Thankfully, that has changed in the last year. I now wake up sometime between 5:30-6:00 in the morning to chill with my Creator. Often I begin my quiet time by rolling around in my bed, mumbling to the Lord. After doing this for a few minutes, I usually break out my Bible (in book or online version) and read some scripture. Some days I journal like crazy and I feel like I’m learning a lot and really “feeling” the value of my quiet time. I feel less anxious and ready to tackle my day. Other times I wonder whether reading Numbers is really more beneficial to me than an extra hour of sleep. I trust at some level it is!
My point in sharing all this is to encourage you that time spent devoted to the Lord and pursuing holiness is WORTH IT!
There have been many times when I feel like God is walking me through a struggle by reminding me of the scripture I memorized back in the day when I consistently did such things. Or, sometimes I know I am making better choices now because I learned something important about myself and the Lord years ago. In other words, I feel like I am still being fed off time spent with Jesus in the past and it encourages me to get fresh food from Him now.
My personal goal is to continue waking up early and spending quiet time with the Lord. I want to journal more. I want memorize more scripture. I want to recognize, confess, and repent of sin more. Most importantly, I want to fix my eyes constantly on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.
If you’re interested in joining women who are seeking to spend more time with God, check out this link:
I haven’t signed up yet, but I’m considering it!