It’s going to look different, and that’s okay

Can I talk to you for a few minutes about your personal quiet time?

What do I mean when I use that term, ‘quiet time’?

I’m talking about that time you spend alone with God, cultivating your relationship with him through prayer and reading of the Word and mediation on the Bible, learning more of God and worshipping him whether through prayer and praise or through song or thought.

Did you know that the term ‘quiet time’ is not even in the Bible? Neither is ‘personal devotions’.

Without going into all the history of where and when we first started using the term, (I’ll let you do your own digging) it was in the late 19^th century that the term first started being mentioned and used among evangelical Protestants in England and North America. Previous to this, it had been commonly called the ‘morning watch’.

But whatever you choose to call it, we have examples in the Bible that emphasize the need of it in our lives. Even the Lord Jesus himself took time out to spend alone with his Father.

Matthew 26:36 KJV - Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

Mark 1:35 KJV - And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

Luke 5:16 KJV - And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

The Lord Jesus saw it as something important and so should we.

I sometimes find the term ‘quiet time’ to be a little vague and not as accurate as I would like, as it implies that we need a certain environment.

But what I really want you to grasp, is that the idea of a quiet time looks different for everyone. And that’s okay.  Everyone is in a different season of life, with different circumstances and living and working in varying situations, and so, our quiet times with God are going to look different from person to person.

In the past, I really struggled to make my time alone with God a consistent thing.

When the girls were little, I would make excuses for not having a quiet time. It just wasn't quiet. I thought I had to have quiet in order for God to hear me or for me to hear him. And I thought I needed an hour at the very least.

As the girls were growing up, life was anything but quiet! As the sun peeked over the horizon, straight away the cares of the day began to press in. A baby needing to be fed, a toddler crying, dishes to wash, baking to be done, and pretty soon that much needed time alone with God was pushed aside and the distractions of life took over.

I was always searching for that elusive 'piece of quiet' to sit and calmly take in what God wanted to say to me for that day. And I never had that hour I thought I needed.

But, over the years I have come to realise that it is God that supplies the quiet, we just need to supply the time. God doesn't expect us to come to Him with a quiet spirit in order to have a quiet time. He will bring the peace our soul craves.

I have many regrets as I look back on those early years, and I am saddened that I didn’t take the opportunities I was given, those moments when things were quiet and there were little snatches of uninterrupted time that I could have used more wisely. But praise God, he forgives and gives us another chance to change and make things right.

The true purpose of our quiet times is to seek God and worship him and learn from him, gaining knowledge about his character and revealing the flaws in ours in order that we can obey and change and grow in our spiritual walk.

It’s not about what I can get from God. It’s not about what is in it for me. It’s not about how it will make me feel or whether it will work like a good luck charm and set me up for a perfect day.

It’s all about what can I learn about God. How can I get to know him better? How can I grow in my spiritual walk through reading and studying the Bible? What do I need to change in my life in order to be a better testimony and show the world Christ?

It’s not always easy to find time to spend focused on God and on his Word, but it is so important if we want to grow and deepen our relationship with him.  

It is intentional time with God. We have to choose to make time for it. But God promises to reward our faithfulness.

Hebrews 11:6 KJV - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I want to give you a helpful reminder:

Our seasons are going to change what our quiet times look like. If we expect them to look the same, stay the same, from season to season, we are going to get discouraged.

That’s right. With each changing season in our lives, our quiet times change.

For some of you your quiet time may look like holding a baby on one arm and turning the pages of your Bible with another. You may have to pray with one eye open.

Or it may be sitting at the kitchen bench in the dark of the early morning, with a small basket beside you, holding your Bible and some study material to sit and meditate on before the rush of the busy day starts.

Or maybe it’s curled up in a comfy chair, reading the Bible, with soft music playing.

Or sitting on the roof watching the sun go down as you listen to worship music, and take in the message as well as the view, praising God for his goodness to you.

I fear that with the rise in popularity of social media accounts and influencers, we have put together a warped picture in our heads of what a quiet time should look like and then we become intimidated and discouraged when ours doesn’t measure up.

You know exactly what I’m talking about. Journalling Bibles. Highlighters. Candles. Coffee. Pretty notebooks and pens and soft worship music.

Now, I’m not saying that any of these things are wrong. But if you expect that is how it should look in order to spend quality time with God, and you don’t achieve it, you’ll get frustrated.

As I said before, quiet times look different for everyone. And that’s okay.

Don’t wait for perfect circumstances and a perfect setting and a perfect time. If you are waiting for that, it will never come, and you will never have a quiet time.

Worship should not be dependent on perfect circumstances. It needs to be a posture of our hearts. Not just a time, or place or style. We should take time to worship and seek God anytime.

Did you know that there is no fixed rule about how we should go about our quiet time? It really is up to personal preference. Season of life. Personality. The layout of your home. Your family dynamic.

And I’m about to blow your mind. There is no rule about having it in the morning!

Yes, we read verses like this in the Bible:

Psalm 5:3 KJV - My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

And yes, it is often the best time, and for me, in my season of life, I find that it is. It’s quieter. I find it gives me a good start if I can meditate on God’s Word first thing and spend time in prayer, giving God my day and asking him to lead the way.  

But it’s not always practical. You can only get up so early. And sometimes you can’t make it up before the children or the newborn.

Just as there are verses about morning meditation, there are also verses like this:

Psalm 63:6 KJV - When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

A great time to pray and worship and meditate is in the stillness of the night. There may be less distractions for you at this time.

And what about Daniel, who met with the Lord three times a day.

Daniel 6:10 - Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

So, let’s be realistic here. Not everyone has an hour in the morning to spend alone with God. Not everyone has the energy and time at the end of the day. And the middle of the day is often not the time to stop and sit still and pour over the Scriptures.

The question is not: Are you coming to God in the morning? Are you spending an hour in the Word?

The question is:

Are you coming to him at all?

That is the crux of the matter. We need to be coming to him. Anytime, day or night, but sometime! Our quiet times need to be regular. We need to be consistent. Whether we feel like it or not, we need to make time for it.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God, you can’t rely on a sermon a week on a Sunday, or a few good worship songs on the way to work, or a quick devotional, or an inspiring quote or a pretty Bible verse bookmark.

No! You have to dig into the Word for yourself, and you have to set your mind to spending time with God, regularly, consistently, diligently.

The Bible is alive. It is powerful. It is a guide. A lamp. A light. It is pure. Eternal. Sure. Right. True. Perfect. Cleansing. Revealing. Righteous.

We need the Word of God, and we need it daily.

But don’t get discouraged if you missed your regular quiet time. Just start up again. If you missed it in the morning, then make time for it at night. If you missed it today, then make time for it tomorrow. Don’t throw up your hands in despair and give up. Ask God to give you the time and be open to his leading and watch for the opportunities he sends.

I love that we are able to have our Bibles at our fingertips in the form of an app on our phones.

I quite regularly have to wait in my line of business, and as I sit in the truck, with possibly only 10 minutes to spare, I pull out my phone and read over verses to think on throughout the day, or I’ll read an article written by Godly men and women who encourage me in my spiritual walk. Or I’ll spend time listening to some worship music, singing praise to God and rejoicing in his promises.

I find that the more time I spend with him, the more I get to know him and the more time I desire to spend with him. I find myself annoyed when my time runs out and I have to stop and go about my day and I look forward to the next time I can sit and study the Word.

God wants you to desire time with him. Don’t get discouraged that you don’t have hours to read and study, or you don’t have an ‘Instagramable’ quiet time setting. Just make sure that you are coming to God, and you are seeking him and longing to know him more.

Be content if you only have 5 minutes but make those 5 minutes count! 

Make the effort to make time for God, set aside a portion of your day to get alone with him, and he will show up! He will always show up. You will be blessed beyond measure when you put him first.

Matthew 6:33 KJV - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV - But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

We come to him broken, with our cup overflowing with confusion, worries, troubles, disappointments; and He graciously and lovingly pours it out and fills our cup with His peace and love and joy. God always shows up when we come to him in sincerity.

But you won’t grow deeper in your relationship with God if you don’t put the hard work in. You have to make a choice to put him first and to come to him regularly.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

*These thoughts were taken from a recent Ladies Bible Study I taught, and I have condensed them to suit a shorter post but will possibly do another post on different ideas for our quiet times and also what hinders our quiet times. God bless. X