The Importance of Quiet Time
(See Mark1:35) Tired after a day of teaching and healing, Jesus wearily lays down and thanks His Father for the events of the day. He knows He needs to get a good night's sleep because He plans to wake up early the next morning to spend more time in prayer. Maybe He looks forward to waking up the next morning so He can spend time with His father. Maybe He's so exhausted the only thing He wants to do is drift into unconsciousness. He falls asleep, but then wakes up and rises early as planned the next morning. While it is still dark, He spends time with God and prays. We don't know exactly what Jesus prayed that early morning, but we know He grasped something important: He knew the essentiality of quiet time.
If Jesus, a man who never sinned, needed quiet time with God every morning and put aside time for it, how much more do we need quiet time? Shouldn't we be able to set aside time for it too?
I admit, it's hard. I believe one of the reasons God created the restraint of time is to remind us that we can't accomplish everything. We find ourselves with many things to do and little time to do them. Often, quiet time gets pushed the side and forgotten by the end of the day. But quiet time is important.
5 tips to improve your quiet time:
Don't squeeze it in. I realized I needled to spend more time with God about a month ago, so I tried to squeeze in devotionals for a while but soon realized it didn’t work. I felt rushed and didn't get deep into the Word when I tried to make quiet time fit into my busy schedule. So I woke up earlier. I set aside 30 minutes every morning to pray and read the Bible. I realized in the process that a 5-minute devotional wasn't enough to satisfy my spiritual hunger. Only digging into the Word could do that. If we wait until the last minute to spend time with God, we'll likely only have time for a 5-minute devotional. If we don't have time, it's our job to make time. Instead of scrolling through social media, we need to open our Bibles. Instead of eating breakfast, we need to read our Bibles. Instead of taking the time to do an extensive makeup or skincare routine, we need to dig into the Word. Of course, this isn't to say we should neglect our duties. But some things in life are nonessential and can be pushed aside or postponed for the sake of Christ.
Squeeze it in. Okay, I know I just told you not to squeeze Bible time in, but that being said, sometimes life happens. Maybe you have a family or work emergency and you don't get much time alone all day. Maybe you have a ton of schoolwork that keeps you up until 1 AM. In any case, something is better than nothing. Even if you don't have a lot of time, you can pray in the spare moments between activities. You can ask to go to the bathroom while at a friend's house and pray there. You can pray while you're running a warm-up at sports practice. You can pray while eating lunch. Maybe a 5-minute devotional is all you can squeeze in some days. That's okay. It's certainly not optimal and it's not going to satisfy you, but something is always better than nothing.
Pay attention to context. When I was a new Christian and first read the Gospels, I didn't look at the whole story. I would read through the Word and only pay attention to timeless moral principles I could apply to everything. Now I realize that context not only keeps us from misunderstanding the Word, it also makes the Word more impactful. Take for example when Jesus stood up at a feast and said that anyone who was thirsty could come to Him and be satisfied (John 7:37-38). That statement is powerful by itself, but when we understand that Jesus proclaimed that on one of the driest days of the year, a day when everyone prayed for the dry season to end, it completely changes how we look at it. Everything Jesus said was intentional and meaningful. It's easier to realize that when you are aware of context.
Take your time. At my church we have a meeting called Multiply on Sunday nights where we look in depth at a passage of Scripture. Because of how slowly we move through the passage, we are able to go in-depth and I learn a lot more about the Scripture. We reread each passage several times! In Jesus’ time on Earth, He never acted hurriedly or cut His prayer time short because He had a schedule to stick to. This is something we should imitate. It makes sense that the more time we spend trying to understand the Bible, the more we will understand it. Look for applications of Scripture. Write them down. Pray through the Word! It’s surprisingly effective.
Use your resources. There are some things in the Bible that we aren’t going to understand on first glance, especially passages in books like Revelation or Isaiah. Even if a passage is easily understood on its own, it’s helpful to listen to a devotional or commentary to enhance your understanding. I like to listen to Drivetime Devotions while reading through a book - I’m using it for John right now. If I’m reading a book in the Bible and I get confused about a passage, I search it up and it helps immensely. Remember to exercise discernment while looking at resources, though. Drivetime Devotions is the main resource I use, but apps like Through the Word and the Bible app are also great resources.
The quality of your quiet time isn’t going to become perfect overnight. But you can take steps to improve your prayer and Bible-reading time each day. Many of you are already spending lots of quality time with Jesus. However, I know that others struggle to consistently have quiet time or struggle with focusing during their time with God. I often struggle with focus and understanding during my quiet time. No matter the circumstance, quiet time should not be neglected. Time with the Lord matters, even if it is only a few minutes. I dare you to close this tab… and open your Bible!
Read this to learn about how Jesus spent time with God: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/time-alone-for-god