Daily Quiet Time
We all need a little daily quiet time, don't we? I think it's a little different for everyone, but at some point we all need a little time to ourselves. It can serve many purposes for different people. For me, it's a time to reconnect with God. I have been doing this for over 2½ years now, but I think it's time to take it to the next level.
My daily quiet time has pretty much consisted of reading the Bible and nothing more. Before that, I was not doing much of anything to connect with God on a daily basis besides a quick prayer before a meal and a bedtime prayer.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a list of things we must do to earn God's love, but it is important to spend time with our creator. He longs for us to talk with Him and listen to Him.
As with any discipline, it's best to take small steps to make a big change over time. When I started 2½ years ago reading the Bible daily, I didn't think I would last this long. I just took it one day at a time, over and over, and looking back I can count on two hands the number of days that I have missed.
Having grown over the years it's time to take a little bigger step. Not too big. It would be easy to set a larger-than-life goal of spending eight hours in daily quiet time, but that wouldn't even last one day. It must be manageable and something I can make time for every day.
New Daily Quiet Time Agenda
This could evolve over time.
- Daily Bible Reading: Right now I am following along with our church. Otherwise, I usually follow one of YouVersion's reading plans.
- Prayer: This will be a new addition to my morning routine. I usually just read and then move on.
- Listen: I am terrible at this. Praying to God is easy. Listening for His voice in the silence is difficult. A discipline I need to work on.
- Time: 20 minutes. Because I've only been doing the daily Bible readings until now, this will allow me the time to pray and listen.
Certainly not rocket science, but stepping back to put some thought into how I should spend my daily quiet time has brought clarity to how I can not only spend more time with God daily, but more quality time.
What does your daily quiet time look like?