QUIET TIME

HOW TO HAVE A GREAT QUIET TIME

Imagine your best friendship over the years, I bet you have images/memories of hanging out with your friend and doing stuff together. Sharing joyous times, sharing intimate matters of the heart and even crying together. Such a sweet,all weather and intimate friendship is possible with Christ and having quiet time is one way to develop it. Here are a few tips to help you have a great one-on-one time with God.

Know and believe that God actually wants to spend time with you

“It is God who works in you both to will and to act according to His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. So desiring to spend more time with God is a desire God has placed in us. He started it and so when we do come to spend time with Him, we are responding to His invitation. So the desire to spend time with God is mutual, God wants to spend time with you too. Doesn’t this just make you excited about your next quiet time? It sure does excite me.

Make time for it.

It’s that simple. If spending time with God is a priority, you’ll make time for it. And even if it’s not a priority right now but you’d like it to be, simply make time in your schedule and stick to it. Chances are when you’ve planned for it, you’ll do it. If you don’t make plans and time for it, you most likely won’t. So what time works best for you currently? Is it mornings or evenings? Make time, show up and take it from there.

Ask God to meet and help you each day.

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” Hebrews 4:12

Ask God to make the word alive as you read, invite Him to search your heart and motives and to lead you in His way, the right way.

Attitudes of the Heart

I have found that the most important aspects I can bring is an honest and open heart and humility. It’s easier to come in our “sunday best” selves before God most times;to tell Him what we think He wants to hear and not what is really on our hearts. Sometimes we believe the lie that God can’t handle our truest emotions, but that is such a lie. You don’t need to come polished up. Come as you are, He can handle your pain, anger, resentment or whatever other carnal feeling you have. He can handle it. He is also the one who can heal all these places fully, so let Him in and allow Him to.

On humility, it’s important to know that there’s a God and that God is not us. He is king of the earth. He is the majestic warrior king who deserves reverence from us. We have the privilege to be His children but He is still God and we need to humbly accept that, there is a God and we are not God, He is.

Set the mood with music.

Worship music that exalts God will help set your heart and mind on Jesus; who He is, what He is capable of and as you exalt Him, faith in Him rises.

Shake it off and pray.

I learnt this tip from Heather Lindsey and it basically involves acknowledging anything on your heart or mind as honestly as possible. It could go like; “God I am worried about this and that, and I bring this worry before you and trade it in for your peace. Or Lord this and this happened, I don’t know what to do about it but I trust that you work all things out for my good so I lay it at your feet.

Read your word

This is very key. John 1:1 reminds us that, In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. So reading the word is meeting God Himself. He is the word. You might ask, but how do I know what exactly to read?

1. Ask God what you should read. He may drop the book or words from a certain verse in your heart and you can read that.

2. What are you currently going through or need? Are you worried, excited, anxious, needing hope? Look up verses on what you feel from the bible app.

3. You can use a bible study plan from the bible app too. It has so many resources. Or you can pick a book of the bible and read through it.

As I read through the bible I like to ask myself these 3 questions;

–What do I learn about man from this passage?

-What do I learn about God?

-How can I apply lessons from this passage in my own life?

Have a journal where you can be able to write down all the things God lays in your heart; lessons from the scripture, promises, prayerful convictions and perhaps prophetic words over your life. A journal grants us a long term collection of His truths that allows us to refer to time spent with Jesus and we get to marvel at the ways He taught and loved on us as we equally give praise for His marvelous work!  .

Pray

Then take time to pray based on what you’ve learnt as you read the word. Also present any other petitions, requests, supplications you have before God. Remember, prayer is conversation with God. Speak to Him and then allow Him to speak back to you.

Be Still and ask God to speak.

I am personally still working on this, but I want to cultivate stillness and even give God an opportunity to lay something on my heart. He may not speak each time, but I will still keep steadying my heart and waiting on Him

Make this a habit.

There’s a planting time and then harvest time follows. So it is with the gardens of our hearts, when we take time to continuously plant the word of God and obedience, we shall reap a harvest of a righteous life. It will be very evident that we are walking with God. The fruit of the Holy Spirit will be evident. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5: 22-23

Also, be patient with yourself, this is a relationship, not a one time thing, there’s room to learn and grow and experience God daily, so take it one day at a time and enjoy the journey.

Do you resonate with any of the above tips? Do you have some fave quiet time tips that you’d like to share with us? Drop us a comment down below and click on the You Tube link to view a video on the same https://youtu.be/y7rfse565Eo

Love and Light,

Harriet Dodea