You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy
(Psalm 16:11, NASU)

The "Quiet Time" is a period set aside each day, during which the Christian meditates on a portion of God's Word and communes with Him. A regular Quiet Time will enable you to develop a meaningful relationship with the Lord. It will also ensure that you grow from strength to strength, spiritually. Here's how to go about it:



SET THE TIME AND CHOOSE THE PLACE

First of all, decide on a suitable time for your daily appointment with the Lord, preferably when you're most alert, such as first thing in the morning. Then choose a place where you'll be free from noise, disturbances or distractions. And you'll need a Bible, a pencil and a notebook or journal.



SELECTING THE BIBLE READING

Once you're comfortably seated, select the passage for that day's reading, and write down the reference, together with the date, in your notebook. You'll find it more beneficial if you select a fairly short reading of only a few verses.

This isn't meant to be a time for Bible Study as such, but a time of intimacy and fellowship with the Lord. And so it's better, in the beginning, to start off with a section of the Bible that you'll be able to understand without any difficulty — such as one of the gospels, or perhaps the letter to the Philippians or one of the other epistles to the churches.

(It is important that Christians should also set aside time for Bible study on a regular basis, as well as having a quiet time each day. But this is another subject, and will not be dealt with in this article.)



READING, PRAYING AND MEDITATING

After you've chosen a passage, read this right through, preferably aloud. (It's amazing how much clearer the scriptures become, when you read them out aloud!)

The next step is to pray, firstly worshipping God, then confessing any specific sins you're aware of having committed the previous day, and asking for forgiveness. When you've done that, ask the Lord to speak to you through the portion of His Word that you're reading.

Then slowly re-read the selected passage through once again, this time meditating on it as you read it.

In order to ensure a proper understanding of the section you're reading, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who was this passage written to?
2. What was the message it carried, i.e. what did it mean to them at that moment in time?
3. What does this passage say to me in the here and now?
4. What does it teach me about Christ/God?

It's also helpful to "pray around" the scriptures, as thoughts come to your mind.

After you've finished, write down in your notebook, a summary of what that particular passage has said to you.



APPLICATION

Finally, ask the Lord how this can be applied to your life in your circumstances today, and also what He wants you to do about it. Then record, in your journal, whatever it is that you believe He's been saying to you.

When you've finished, close off your Quiet Time with whatever prayers you may have in mind.



FOLLOW UP

It's all too easy to forget to act on what God has revealed to us about ourselves through His Word. The Apostle James warns that when we do this, we're like the person who sees his spiritual reflection in the mirror, and then as soon as he turns away from it he forgets what God has shown him about his spiritual life (James 1:22-24).

So from time to time you'll need to read through the entries in your notebook/journal, to check up on yourself and make sure that you've carried through with whatever it was that the Lord had put into your heart to do, during your Quiet Time.

A regular Quiet Time will grow you spiritually, and will also steadily increase your knowledge about the Lord, your intimacy with Him, and your faith in Him. And it's a fact that the Bible has been a life-transforming power wherever it has been read.

Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4, NASB)

These links will take you to previous chapters of this booklet:

Chapter 1, Why Do We Need Salvation?
Chapter 2, What is the Cost of Salvation?
Chapter 3, What Does It Mean to be "Born Again?"
Chapter 4, Preparing for the Christian Journey
Chapter 5, Walking with Christ



Please feel free to write to me. My email address is:

response@bibtruth.com

© 2009 by Yvonne Gibbs. All rights reserved.