Developing a daily quiet time routine is one of the most important things that you can do to cultivate your spiritual growth. Learning to withdraw from the busyness of life and spend some quality moments alone with God each day will help to attune your heart and your mind to God’s voice.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls us to abide in Him, to find rest and spend time with Him, in order to remain connected to the vine and to bear fruit. Without this connection, we will wither like a flower cut from its roots.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5)
Spending time alone with God should be the most delightful experience of our day – anticipated, cherished, and then savored. Whether the day is good or bad, hard or easy, painful or pleasurable, it is our morning time with God that should help us sing with joy or endure with gritty determination.
Jesus was in the habit of withdrawing on a regular basis to pray. Amidst all of the miracles, the teaching, the healing, and the flipping tables, Jesus took time to withdraw from the busyness of life and spend some time alone with his Father. If Jesus needed this time to withdraw and pray, then we can assume that we need it just as much, if not even more so.
Taking time to withdraw from the rest of our responsibilities and spend some time alone with God helps us to recharge our batteries, get familiar with God’s voice and his story, and get into the habit of bringing everything to God in prayer.
If you aren’t already in the habit of having daily quiet time with God, below are a few things that you can do to develop this routine and make it a life-giving habit that draws you closer to God.
There are four essential elements of a good quiet time:
- Start with the proper attitudes.
- Select a specific time.
- Choose a special place.
- Follow a simple plan.
Start with the proper attitudes
In God’s eyes, why we do something is far more important than what we do. On one occasion God told Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). When you come to God, you need these right attitudes:
Expectancy. Come before God with anticipation, expecting to have a good time of fellowship and receive a blessing from your time together. This is what David expected: “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you” (Psalm 63:1; see also Psalm 42:1).
Reverence. Don’t rush into God’s presence, but prepare your heart by being still before him. Let the quiet clear away the thoughts of the world. The prophet Habakkuk tells us, “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20; see also Psalm 89:7). Coming into the presence of God is not like going to a football game.
Alertness. Remember that you are meeting with the Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Redeemer of mankind. Be thoroughly rested and alert. The best preparation for a morning quiet time begins the night before. Get to bed early so you can give God your full attention in the morning.
Willingness to obey. This attitude is crucial: You don’t come to your quiet time to choose what you will or won’t do, but with the purpose of doing anything and everything God wants you to do. Jesus said, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). So come to meet the Lord having already chosen to do his will no matter what.
Make a Date With Jesus!
Decide in advance when and for how long your quiet time should be. The general rule is this: The ideal time is when you are at your best. Give God the best part of your day—when you are the freshest and most alert. Don’t try to serve God with your leftover time. It was Jesus’ own practice to rise early to pray and meet with the Father.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35).
In the Bible, many godly men and women rose early to meet with God. Some of these were Abraham, Job, Jacob, Moses, Hannah, and David.
The great revival among British college students in the late 19th century began with these historic words: “Remember the Morning Watch!” Think of your morning meeting with God as your Morning Watch.
Doctors tell us breakfast is our most important meal, giving us energy, alertness, and even establishing our moods for the day. Likewise, we need a “spiritual breakfast” to start our day off right and make sure we are giving Jesus first place. We are to seek his kingdom first (Matthew 6:33).
Finally, in the morning our minds are less cluttered. Our thoughts are fresh, we are rested, and it’s usually the quietest time. Whatever time you set, be consistent in it. Schedule it on your calendar; make an appointment with God as you would with anyone else. Make a date with Jesus! Then make sure you keep it at all costs.
How much time you spend is a matter to be decided between you and the Lord. If a quiet time is new to you, start out slow, but aim eventually to spend not less than 15 minutes a day with God. Out of the 168 hours we all have in a week, 1 hour 45 minutes seems terribly small when you consider that you were created to have fellowship with God.
Choose a Special Place
Where you have your quiet time is just as important as when. The Bible indicates that Abraham had a regular place where he met with God (Genesis 19:27). Jesus had a custom of praying in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.
“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him” (Luke 22:39).
Your place ought to be a secluded place, somewhere you can be alone, where it’s quiet, and where you will not be disturbed or interrupted. This may take some ingenuity, but it is necessary. It ought to be a place …
- Where you can pray aloud without disturbing others.
- Where you have good lighting for reading (a desk, perhaps).
- Where you are comfortable. (Bed is not a good choice. That’s too comfortable!)
Wherever you choose, make it a sacred place—a place you set aside to meet each day with the Lord of the universe.
Follow a Simple Plan
You’ll need a general plan to make your quiet time successful, but the main rule is this: Keep your plan simple. Don’t let it detract from your time with Christ. You will need the following items:
- A Bible and a bible dictionary or concordance
- A notebook—for writing down what the Lord shows you and for making a prayer list.
Relax and wait on God. Be still and quiet for a minute to put yourself in a reverent mood. Follow God’s admonition:
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10; see also Isaiah 30:15, 40:31).
Request that God cleanse your heart and guide you into the time together. Here’s a great Scripture to memorize:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
Read Your Bible
- Don’t race through it.
- Repeatedly, until you start to picture it in your mind. The reason some people don’t get more out of their Bible reading is that they do not read this way.
- Reflect and Remember. To have the Scriptures speak to you meaningfully, you should meditate on what you are reading and memorize verses that particularly speak to you. Meditation is “seriously contemplating a thought over and over in your mind.”
- Record or journal what God has shown you. When God speaks to you through his Word, record what you have discovered. Writing it down enables you both to remember what God revealed to you and to check up on your biblical discoveries.
Talk to God – Prayer
After God has spoken through His Word, then speak to Him in prayer. One helpful method is to incorporate four areas of prayer that you can remember with the word ACTS.
- Adoration: This is the purest kind of prayer because it’s all for God. Tell the Lord that you love Him. Reflect on His greatness.
- Confession: “Confession” comes from a root word meaning “to agree together with.” When we apply this to prayer, it means we agree with God’s estimation of what we’ve done. Ask Him to cleanse you of your sin and help you turn from it moving forward.
- Thanksgiving: Think of several specific things to thank Him for: your family, your business, your church— even thank Him for being with you in hardship.
- Supplication: This means to “ask for, earnestly and humbly.” Ask for others, then ask for yourself. Include people around the world, missionaries, friends, and those who have yet to hear about Jesus.
A prayer of commitment
“Father, I realize that I was created to have fellowship with you. Thank you for making this
privilege possible through Jesus’ death. I know that daily fellowship with You is to be the most
important thing in my life. I now want to commit myself to spend at least some time every
day with you in a quiet time of Bible reading and prayer. I’m trusting in your strength to help me
be consistent. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”