Quiet time with God is important because it is how we nurture intimacy with him. God designed us in his image, which is hard wired for community—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. After creation, Adam and Eve enjoyed close communion with God in the garden.
When Jesus died on the cross, scripture tells us that the veil that separated humanity from God in the holy of holies, was torn in two from top to bottom. Jesus’ blood spilled for all gives us salvation (for all who will believe) and that salvation is what gives us access to the presence of God.
The presence of God is powerful and important for us because it is the way of redemption and restoration. God did not save us for our own personal ambitions, but for restoring the relationship according to the original design: close communion between God and his creation.
So, quiet time with God becomes paramount in that restoration process. It is time that is surrendered to knowing God. This communion with the LORD is not about the acquisition of information about God, it is about knowing the ways of his heart. That kind of knowing is intimate and requires reciprocity, because that’s how relationships work.
The only way to know God is to accept his invitation to come close, which sounds simple enough, but if you’re reading this you already know it’s not. I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard people say: I know I need to have a quiet time, but [insert excuse]. Knowing something is important and doing it are two very different things.
Prioritizing your relationship with the LORD begins with a commitment to meet regularly, which is then the practice of showing up. It’s about choosing surrender and walking in obedience, in a word: discipline.
What does intimacy with God look like?
Relationships with other people are difficult to develop, so it is understandable that developing a relationship with God, who is supernatural, will certainly take disciplined commitment. Not only that, God won’t demand your love like other humans do in our natural relationships. God invites you to come and then he waits—he never forces his way.
Please understand that your quiet time with God is not about checking a box on your spiritual maturity check-list. We need to be careful, to guard our hearts against the temptation of striving for God’s favor. This propensity toward earning our way in will always lead to defeat. Even the best tools used incorrectly can become weapons of self-harm. Seriously, it can happen so quickly if we don’t watch the motives of our hearts.
One of my favorite passages is when Moses says to God, “…let me know Your ways that I might know You…” (Exodus 33:13). Think about that for moment. Moses and God were pretty tight, yet even after all the miracles Moses still wanted to know God. Just because we know the stories of God, doesn’t mean we understand ways of his heart.
Spending quiet time with God makes room in the soul to know by seeing and hearing beyond the words. God meets with us to reveal himself and that revelation is what love looks like. Communion with the Father is the only way to fulfillment and wholeness, but you have to be present. Reading, praying, and studying the Bible are all extremely powerful tools for quiet time with God, but you have to quiet yourself; this is what it means to be present.
Essential elements of devotion
Start with surrender. Leave your agenda and ambitions at the door. Let go of self-centered expectation and press into your quiet time with God.
Here’s the thing, you can’t take your idols into the throne room. Prioritizing your relationship with God will require repeated surrender, because it’s never once and done. Anything—attitudes, things, practices, or people—we place of greater importance above God is an idol. I know, that sure feels yucky, but we must become aware of it so we can cut them down.
There is only room for one on the throne, so if we insist on keeping the idols, we will not be able to see or hear from the Father. These idols stand in opposition of our freedom. They block the way in, effectively cutting us off from the revelation of God. I can’t stress this enough: cut down the idols. Make surrender a regular practice.
Move into the silence. There is a time and place for celebration, but there is also a time for awe. Awe is about beholding the greatness of God. It looks upon the Father, allowing the heart to become aware of the fullness of His presence.
Be still. Let go of you need to perform. All the busy doing—even spiritual activity—can become distracting. The enemy is sneaky and will used any means to lead us away from the goodness of God.
A quiet time with God is not about doing, it’s about being. Before we embark on any method of devotion, we have to calibrate our heart, soul, and mind. Once we do that, we can employ any number of amazing practices as vehicles to the more of God. Make sense?
When your quiet time with God feels stale
Okay—we’ve all been here. The commitment is made and the discipline is set into motion, but somewhere along the way it becomes rote and stale. What used to be inspiring and brilliant has become dull. Really, how is that different from any of our relationships?
Familiarity can be both a friend and a foe. Routines can make life better because they help us form healthy rhythms—you will never convince me that routine is a bad thing. But, spontaneity it also a very good friend.
You and I are complicated, multifaceted beings. And not only that, remember that we are designed in the image of God, who is the quintessential of complicated and multifaceted. There are many ways into the presence of God, and by that I am talking about methods. Let’s be clear: The only way to God is through Jesus.
There are many vehicles we can use to know the ways of God’s heart, but it is important to understand that it doesn’t matter how well you drive, or what vehicle you choose, because it always goes back to the position of your heart. So, maybe it’s time to diversify and experiment with some new disciplines and methods; time to try a new model?
In an effort to embolden and enliven your quiet time with God, I’ve created a big awesome list of quiet time ideas for your perusal. This is by no means exhaustive but it will give you a great place to start and prime your pump!
My big awesome list of quiet time ideas!
(Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for giving any of the recommendations found in this list.)
- Bible Reading Plan. You can go online and check out Bible apps, which all offer a variety of reading plans. Also, many Study Bibles have reading plans included.
- Personal Bible Study. You can find these online and at bookstores. Use it as a guide by working through it every day.
- Inductive Bible Study. This is one of my favorites, because anyone can do it any time. Really you just read through the scripture passage asking yourself: Who, what, when, why, and where and how does this apply to me.
- Lectio Divina. This is a devotional method of scripture reading/study. It applies active listening. I loved using this method to teach my kids how to listen to the voice of God. One of my favorite resources is: The message//Remix: Solo | An Uncommon Devotional, by Navpress.
- Verse Mapping. This method of Bible Study tackles one verse at a time, breaking it down to key words, historical context, and definitions, which all pave the way to application and prayer.
- Scripture Memory. Hide the word in your heart—is biblical and practical. In the dark hard places of life, scripture becomes a powerful weapon the wield, but it’s hard to pull from an empty bank.
- Praying Scripture. This pairs well with scripture memorization!
- A Prayer Walk. I love walking through my community and praying over home, businesses and people, as Holy Spirit leads. Sometimes there is incredible revelation. Also, take a camera sometime, you will be surprised at how differently things appear through the lens of your camera.
- Praying in Color. This will liven up your prayer time, because again, it pushes you to listen differently. This may not be a favorite for everyone, but I think everyone should try it at least once. My favorite resource for this method is: Praying in Color: Drawing a New path to God (Active Prayer), by Sybil MacBeth
- Breath Prayer. Simple heartfelt prayers, prayed regularly and often.
- Centering Prayer. Intentionally putting Jesus in the Center. Quiet yourself and wait with attentive openness to the voice of the LORD. Wait in it; don’t rush through.
- Intercessory Prayer. Praying over specific needs of family, friends, church, and global issues.
- Fixed-Hour Prayer. Setting aside a specific set of times each day to sit and meet with God. A good example of this is how we pray over our meals. Imagine making that more intentional and specific.
- Liturgical Prayer. Liturgy can certainly become rote, but there is a richness to praying the prayers of the Church (Capital C). A great resource is: The Divine Hours, by Phyllis Tickle.
- Labyrinth Prayer. You don’t need a physical labyrinth to accomplish this practice. You can adapt it by taking a walk through your neighborhood, or even just following a diagram of a labyrinth. The whole idea is to take a journey away from the noise and distractions. This journey leads to rest and restoration, which allows you to return home to live more deliberately and obediently. 1.
- Fasting.
- Soaking. Sometimes you just need to be still and quiet. There are many Christian Soaking Music collections available to help create an environment of stillness. The point of this discipline isn’t about being still and quiet, it’s about listening. Being still and quiet help open the way to hearing. Choose music that won’t distract you.
- Gratitude Journal. Thanksgiving gives way to breakthrough. A great book to read on the power of a thankful heart is: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You are, By Ann Voskamp
- Journaling. You can journal using scripture and words, or you can meet with God as you journal through art. Either way, it is contemplative.
- Examine. This discipline is designed to help gage the state of your heart. It’s contemplative as well, helping you to examine your feelings. Questions that help you get after which activity are you most thankful for, and which activity you are least thankful for. As you unearth how you truly feel, it gives you a place from which to pray, either celebrating or surrendering it unto God.
- Practicing the Presence. Learning to develop a continual openness and awareness of God’s presence. A great little read is: Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence.
- Rest is part of our design. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10. Busyness is a form of idolatry. We all need to learn how to be still before the LORD. Rest is part of our design.
- Retreat. Every gone on a personal retreat? Consider doing one. Place to go unplugged and offline. Utilized any of these ideas to kick-start your quiet time with God.
- Contemplation. This method observes and studies the inner soul. It’s valuable because it helps you see what’s going on inside and maybe why it happens. This is helpful in fleshing out issues, which opens the way to deeper intimacy. There are many options to help in the contemplative journey (writing, art, gardening, journaling, running, etc.).
- Personal worship. Don’t save all your worship for Sunday morning! Sing, dance, write, and pray! Celebrate the goodness of God. This really is necessary, because it teaches us to keep Jesus at the center. When we can do it alone, we are better equipped to avoid performance when we do it together.
Read more on quiet time with God by clicking this link of a blog post I wrote a while back!