I have had some friends ask me to show them, how to have a fruitful or successful quiet time. And I always used to tell them to identify what works for them because I believe we are all different and what works for one person may not work for the other. However, their further probing brought to my attention the fact that they needed basic tips or guidelines that will help them improve on their time alone with God. That’s exactly what “quiet time” is all about. Dedicating a few minutes or hours to your object of worship – in most cases, God Almighty.
Apart from the fact that creating time seems difficult in a world where the 24hrs/day is not even enough for the accomplishment of our day-to-day activities, sometimes we feel as though our quiet times are unfruitful or that, God was not in the room with us. It’s all very normal. We just ought to stop assuming that, there’s a cut-out way that one is to feel during quiet times. It’s simply devotion so all that matters are consistency and commitment. One thing we must also know is that, what we love or like, we create time for. So, it all starts with;
•Loving God.
Loving God will put some sense of longing in you for fellowship or communication with Him. It’s very obvious when we love our fellow humans because we seem eager to hear from them, text them, receive messages from them, hang out with them etc. It’s the same with loving God. Only when you identify with Him as a father and friend, will you see the need to create time for fellowship with him?
•Create an achievable Schedule.
Once you have identified the need to spend time with God, you need to create the time for that. It’s often best to spend time with God in the morning before stepping out. This could help you pray into the day and carry the message of your quiet time with you throughout the day. So you could dedicate some 30 to 45 minutes to that. Mind you, this has to be very intentional and deliberate. Say your regular wake-up time is 6 am, you now have to change it to 5:30 am or 5 am even. It will not be easy at first, but remember, we sacrifice for the things or persons we love. So, go ahead and make God know you prioritize Him.
•Find for Yourself a Good Location.
You may have heard people mention having prayer rooms or altars in their homes where they get to spend time with God without any sort of distractions. It’s good to create an atmosphere of quiet and peace, free from any form of noise or distraction if you want to achieve the most out of your time spent with God. It could be your bedroom or an entirely different place in the house. But try your best to find a good location for your time in fellowship with God.
•Have a Plan.
It’s a good thing to want to spend time with God but not having a cut-out plan can be of a great disadvantage. It’s good to depend on and count on God for direction. But it’s not advisable to be flipping through random pages in the Bible every day with no systematic plan or approach. So, say for the month of March, you may want to personally know the story of the prophet Jeremiah, so you dedicate time to reading and researching him while praying and counting on God to reveal the hidden truths and understanding in that book to you. Also decide whether you will start from; Adoration, Thanksgiving, Confession, Supplication, etc.
Read more; HOW TO CREATE AN ACTION PLAN AND ACHIEVE YOUR PERSONAL GOALS
Irrespective of what tools and (or) methods you decide to use, devotion or quiet time is not about checking off “quiet time” on your “to-do list”. Devotion is all about creating a life full of commitment to God and His word which will build up our relationship with Him.
