How To Start a Daily Quiet Time

Do you want to spend some time with Jesus, but you’re not sure how to do it or where to start? An intimate fellowship with The Lord, time in His Word, soaking in what He has to say to you and responding to Him as if you are “best friends” is offered to each one of us. We just have to take the time to invest in our relationship with The Lord.

Like building any friendship, it takes an investment of time, energy, and purpose. But friends, it is SO worth it!

If you’re wondering where you’ll get any extra minutes in your day, let me ask you this: Do you use your snooze alarm? If so… there’s your answer! 😉 My personal philosophy is that if I have time to snooze in the mornings, I could invest those 10 minutes in Jesus and be more rested than if I had slept a few extra minutes. If you’ll set your alarm back just 10 minutes earlier, and get up when it goes off, you can start your day filled and refreshed – rather than tired and cranky. I promise. You can never out-give God. You give Him those precious 10 minutes, and see just what He gives you in return: strength, encouragement, hope, a plan for your day, inspiration, peace… to name a few.

{Soon, you’ll find that 10 minutes just isn’t enough, and you’ll see such a “return” on your investment, that you’ll be craving more and more time with Him.}

Need a Jump Start? Here is a plan for 10 Precious Minutes with the Lord.

Have these items handy:

A Bible (easy to read and understand version – I LOVE the Amplified, Holeman Christan Standard, Message, NIV, and the New Living Translation)

Paper – I use a spiral notebook or several sheets of notebook paper folded up in my Bible for these moments with God.

A Pen or Pencil (highlighter optional)

Here’s the plan:

1 minute – Submit yourself to the Lord. Bow yourself to Him, acknowledging Him as your King and Authority over you. Give yourself and your day to Him. Ask Him to speak to you.

1 minute – Praise God for three of His Characteristics and Thank God for three ways He’s blessed you. Quickly write the date and record these on your paper.

1 minute – Ask God to create in you a clean heart (Ps. 51:10). As He reveals any unconfessed sin, repent of it lay it before Him. (Of course, this is more than a minute long process – it’s an every day, all day long process. This minute just opens the door for the Lord to speak to you throughout the day about your sin. As He convicts you of sinning, repent right then. Don’t wait until later. Confess it. Ask for forgiveness immediately, and stay clean throughout the day. It’s like washing your hands each time they get dirty, instead of waiting till the end of the day or the next morning. There are times we all need a long, deep spiritual cleansing, and I encourage you to set aside a special time with The Lord to do that.)

2 minutes – Ask God to fill you, cover you with His armor, shine through you, and speak to you.

“Fill me” – Colossians 2:10 says in the Jewish New Testament, “It is in union with Him that you have been made full.” Especially when we are rushed and stressed, we tend to run on empty. It is in union with Jesus – this time together with Him before anything else depletes us – that we are made and kept full.

“Cover me” – Using Ephesians 6:10-14, put on the armor God has provided for you to wear in Victory! You might want to list the armor pieces at the top of your notebook paper so you can quickly go through and picture each piece. I picture myself putting them on piece by peace, as I speak each piece aloud, thanking God for this awesome protection.

“Shine through me” – Pray that you will “Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1

“Speak to me” – Pray Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in Your Law.” and get ready for God to reveal Himself to you through His Word.

(Now, you’re about 5 minutes into the 10.)

3 minutes – Read God’s Word. Have a specific place in the Bible in mind, so you won’t waste your time randomly searching. I’m going through Psalms right now. Other wonderful books are Proverbs, John, James, Philippians… they are all so wonderful, it’s hard to choose one. But for this quick quiet time, I would encourage you to stick to one of the books mentioned above.

There is just something special about getting a Word from what I like to call “the raw Word of God”. I LOVE devotional books and Bible studies… and I encourage you to find time through out your day to add a Bible study or devotional book reading to your life. But if you truly have only 10 minutes, I encourage you to spend them in God’s Word first and add what someone else has written about God’s Word later. {If you have The Holy Spirit living within you, He will speak to you just as He speaks to those who write those devotions and Bible studies… That is…if you ask Him to…and if you then get in His Word. :-)}

What to do: Start at the beginning of the book/passages you are reading. Read for 3 minutes or until you have some type of “reaction” (Wow! or Oh, You are so Good, Lord! or I am so sorry! or I never thought of it like that before… or even, I don’t understand…) Stop reading at that point. You’ll pick up at this spot tomorrow and continue reading.

1 minute – On your paper, under your praise/thanks, write the reference for what you just read, then write your reaction. This makes Scripture come alive, because God has just spoken to you, revealing His Truth to you in some way, and in your reaction, you are responding to Him. It’s like you are writing to each other. This is so important, because as we get busy, we tend to forget the wonderful things The Lord revealed to us. Having them written down, gives us a reminder and a visible picture of God’s activity in our lives at the moment. These types of papers are a treasure to me.

1 minute – Pray these truths into your life. Ask God to help these truths be a reality in your own life.

The 10 minutes is over, but your fellowship with Jesus has just begun.

As you begin preparing for your day, continue to talk with Jesus about the day ahead, about your family, your concerns, your needs and those things/people heavy on your heart. You can even pray that these same truths you just heard from God in your time with Him would be found true in the lives of others. As you go about your day, drive to work with Him… fold the laundry with Him… acknowledge The Lord in your daily life … lingering in His presence as you would your best and dearest friend. The presence of God’s fellowship and the awareness of His personal involvement in your life will be a sweet blessing and reward for seeking Him!

No matter how busy the day ahead becomes, or what lies ahead, this 10 minutes with the Lord will help jump start your day with the breath of the Lord God Almighty propelling you forward in His strength, joy, and fellowship!

And if you want to really dig deep into God’s Word, keep reading below

How to Study the Bible for yourself, by yourself …along with the help of the Holy Spirit 🙂

Do you think that the Billy Grahams and the Beth Moores are the only ones who can open a Bible and get a special Word from the Lord on a consistent basis?

If your answer is “yes”, I hate to say it, but you couldn’t be more wrong! The good news is: If Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life, then the same Holy Spirit that lives in Billy and Beth also lives in you. In John 14:26, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of what we’ve learned from Jesus. This is a promise for each one of us.

The more we read and study God’s Word, the more we know Him, hear Him, love Him, and realize how much He loves us – enough to invest in every tiny detail of our lives. Our time in God’s Word each day is not a waste. It’s an investment we can’t afford not to make.

If you want to grow deeper in your walk with Christ and study a portion of God’s Word on your own, here is an effective method to use:

1. Request – Pray Psalm 119:18 and ask for wisdom.

2. Read – Start reading in God’s Word. The Gospels, Epistles, James, Psalms or Proverbs are wonderful books to read and study through. Choose one book and start reading at the very beginning. When something wonderful, convicting, interesting, or encouraging stands out to you, stop reading.

3. Recap – Write down the passage reference you just read, and briefly recap what the passage was about.

4. Re-evaluate – Look at what you wrote down: Prayerfully reevaluate your life. What is the Holy Spirit revealing to you about your life, your thoughts, your actions, or reactions? Do you need to know something? Thank Jesus? Confess something? Change something? Stop something? Start something? Whatever it is, write that down.

5. Respond – Respond in prayer concerning what was revealed to you. Ask for help to obey what The Lord has shown you to do in response to this truth from His Word. (You can either say or write your response prayer. Sometimes writing your prayers is helpful for a future day when you need to remember your response to God about a certain subject in which He is dealing with you. A written record of your walk with the Lord is a treasure to both you and Him.)

6. Remember – Is this a verse to commit to memory? Do you need to meditate on this truth? Do you need to write this truth down and post it somewhere? If so, do it.

7. Recall – Ask the Holy Spirit (who will bring to your remembrance – John 14:26) to do His work in your life and help you not forget what you have learned.

8. Reveal – Ask the Lord if there is anyone you can bless by humbly revealing what the Lord has shown you in His Word. If so, be sure to share with that person… otherwise you may be robbing him/her of a blessing from God.

Keep repeating this process each day, picking up where you left off the day before. If you study God’s Word on a consistent basis, you’ll be amazed at the vibrancy in your life! Then one day, you’ll hear Billy or Beth say something God taught them from His Word, and it just might be something God has already spoken to you!

“Your words were found, and I ate them; and Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16