In our church, we talk a lot about the term “quiet time” and the Christian’s need for this daily. But you may be wondering just what exactly is a quiet time and how do I do it? Over several blog posts, I hope to clear some of that up. Today, I just want to focus on what the term means.
Put simply, quiet time is just communing with God. It’s a time we set aside in the quiet of our day to seek to have a conversation with God.
The purpose of a quiet time is simply to build a relationship with God and spend time with Him. The end result is we become more like Him and grow spiritually, growing to love Him more and obey Him more.
At its basic level, a quiet time can be broken down into two parts: Bible intake and prayer. It’s been said that the Bible is how God speaks to us and prayer is how we speak to God.
We emphasize the word “quiet” because ideally it happens in the quiet of our day, usually in the early morning before others are up. Or for some night owls, after everyone else is in bed. But because everyone is different and each person’s situation is different, it might be a not-so-quiet time. You could theoretically have it at McDonald’s while the kids are in the PlayPlace, or in a jet flying over the Midwest (maybe with noise-cancelling headphones?), or in an office cubicle or your car during lunch. Different stages of life may call for adjustments here, but the ideal situation is the quiet of an early morning in your own home.
More important than the place is the attitude of your heart, that you are quieting your inner restlessness to focus on your relationship with Christ, just as Christ did in communing with His Father.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
—Mark 1:35 NIV
What does the term quiet time mean to you?