Is your quiet time with God either missing, miserable or mysterious? If so, you’re not alone. A recent poll indicates that only 25% of protestant (non-catholic) Christians read their bibles every day. And many of them struggle with guilt because they know they are supposed to but can’t seem to get consistent. If we were just honest, we struggle with consistent quiet time with God. No matter how many times we will ourselves to be more consistent we fall off after experiencing short-lived success. Even those of us who are ministers and have been studying God’s word for a very long time can find it difficult to remain as consistent as we would like. Below are 3 quick tips on how to improve your quiet time with God.
#1 – Dedicate Unhurried, Uninterrupted time with God
Just like anything else we desire out of life, we must make this a priority and then have the discipline necessary to follow through. However, we will never do so unless we first see the value in doing it. It doesn’t have to be in the morning and it doesn’t have to be 1 hour. It needs to be at a time when it’s unhurried and uninterrupted. Release yourself of the guilt of having to do it in the morning. Everyone’s schedules do not permit them to do so and quite frankly, that is not when everyone is their freshest and most attentive. Just make sure the you are not in a hurry and the environment is free from interruptions.
#2 Eliminate Unrealistic Expectations
I confess that for years I have had unrealistic expectations of what a relationship, a good relationship, should look like. I thought that it should be fun, romantic, happy and butterflies-in-the-stomach at all times. And when it wasn’t I assumed we were having problems and something was drastically wrong! And then the relationship was over. Sometimes we view our quiet time with God the same way. Sometimes we think that we should have these mountaintop experiences every time we open up our Bibles or spend quality time with Him. But is that realistic? I must admit, I myself bought into the lie that I had to have mountaintop experiences every time I opened my Bible. Because I had so many of these experiences before, I came to expect it every time. And when it didn’t happen as frequently I became quickly discouraged. I blamed myself. I blamed God. I thought I was drifting away from God. I questioned whether my passion for God had dissipated. But…then I had an epiphany. It’s the same epiphany I hope you have while reading this blog post. WHAT I WAS EXPECTING FROM GOD WAS NOT REALISTIC. I was driven by the emotional and spiritual highs I had become accustomed to having and when I didn’t have them all the time I felt like something was wrong. Release yourself of that pressure. Any relationship that is based on feelings is not a mature one. Sometimes it may feel like you are checking off a box; a box that says, “God I made an effort to spend time with you today.”
#3 – Don’t let it get stale
One of the reasons why we don’t look forward to our time with God is because we’ve let it grow stale. If we went out on the same date every day with someone, no matter how much we love them it will eventually get boring. You may want to SWITCH IT UP. Here are a few ideas for doing that.
Read the Proverb of the day
There are generally 31 days in each month and there are 31 Proverbs. Read whatever proverb it is for that day. I love this because it eliminates the time spent trying to figure out what to read for the day.
Do a Topical Study
Decide on a topic you are interested in, grab a topical Bible or concordance and read all the scriptures you can find about that topic and then journal how God speaks to you from those Scriptures.
Online streaming
Turn off that ratchet radio station and make the most of your time (Eph. 5:15-17) by listening to a bible study teaching on a subject of your choice. If you have the data available, this is a great way to get a solid word from God especially when you’re on the go. Check out www.oneplace.com for some great content.
Read a spiritual book
This is great as long as the book has Scripture references that you can in it and it points you back to the word of God. As good as they are, be careful never to replace a spiritual book or a daily devotional book with the Bible. These books are written by men and are not inspired.
Be encouraged! Developing a consistent quiet time with God takes time. Be patient with yourself and know that God doesn’t expect perfection he desires progress. If you have any questions on this topic or want more helpful resources, contact me and I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction.