Spending alone, uninterrupted time with Jesus each day is something we should all be prioritizing as followers of Christ. But just like anything else you do on a regular basis, it’s easy for our quiet time to start to feel stagnant and stale. So, if you find yourself in a rut when it comes to your time with Jesus, here are 5 tips to improve your personal quiet time.
1. Stay consistent
Carve out time each day to spend time in the presence of God. And if you can, carve out the same time slot every day. If you’re an early riser, set your alarm a little earlier and have your quiet time in the morning. Or if you’re a night owl, stay up a little later to have your quiet time in the evening. The important thing is that you’re consistent. So make a plan, and stick to it.
2. Mix it up
A common misconception is that your time with the Lord has to look the exact same every single day. But what other relationship are you in where your interactions look the same day after day? Think about how you interact with your best friend. Some days you talk about lighthearted things. Other days you have heavier conversations. Sometimes they talk more, and you listen. Other times you talk more, and they listen. The same can be true for the time you spend with God. Your quiet time shouldn’t just be a checklist of Bible study, devotional readying, prayer time, and journaling. Feel the freedom to mix it up. Some days you might only read your Bible. Other days you might spend more time in prayer than anything else. It’s okay for there to be a variety.
3. Eliminate distractions
We live in a world of distractions. As soon as our feet hit the floor in the morning, there is so much competing for our attention. Between our families, our email inbox, our social media accounts, and our to-do lists, there’s plenty we have to focus on and attend to. But it’s important that if we want to have a quality quiet time with God that we eliminate as many of these distractions as we can. If possible, leave your phone in another room while you’re doing your quiet time. Or if you use it as a study resource, set it to Do Not Disturb so that notifications aren’t distracting you. Also, let your family know when you’re going to have your quiet time. Tell them how long you’re planning on spending in your quiet time so they know to honor your time with the Lord and give you the space to be alone with Him.
4. Be quiet
It’s funny how we call our daily time with God our “quiet time,” and yet many of us every actually sit in the quiet during that time. We either have worship music playing in the background, or we spend a good amount of time talking to God in prayer, but it doesn’t seem like we’re spending as much time being still before the Lord and creating a quiet space for Him to speak. It is when we truly get quiet – that’s quieting our mouths and our minds – that the Holy Spirit has room to speak to our hearts and give us the encouragement, conviction, clarity, or answers we need.
5. Memorize and meditate
It’s one thing to read God’s Word, and it’s another to memorize it. Scripture makes it very clear that we should be hiding God’s Word in our hearts so that we don’t sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). So as you are reading through and studying your Bible, if you come across a verse or two that really stand out, begin committing those verses to memory. Write them on sticky notes to place in your office. Download an image of the verse and set it as your phone background. Write the verse on your bathroom mirror at your house. And then continue to spend time reciting and meditating on that verse throughout the week.