How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time

Post written by Raymund Tamayo

If you are reading this third installment of my “Quiet Time” series, then you are probably serious about having a deeper relationship with God. I commend you! Not that many people take their time to really examine and grow their spirituality.

Let me first clarify that being in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is a love relationship, not a legalistic one. Nowhere in the Bible are we required or obligated to have Quiet Time every day, BUT – that’s a big “but” – as in any kind of relationship, we need to spend as much time with God to be more intimate with Him. And spending time should be every day.

Time will come in your Christian walk that a 1 hour daily Quiet Time is no longer enough. It will eventually become a devoted life… when you are in constant communion with God 24/7, being in His presence in whatever you do. How wonderful is that!

How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time

Before we get ahead of ourselves, first let us find out how to have a more meaningful Quiet Time with God. There are 5 factors to help you get the most out of your daily time with the Lord:

1. A right time. Don’t try to find time. Make time. Prioritize this all-important appointment with your Creator. You may start small, just 5 minutes each day, then progressively add 5 more minutes as each week passes. It can be early in the morning, or during your lunch break at work, or early evening before dinner, or the last thing you’ll do before going to bed.

2. Ready yourself. Now that you know the time, you must prepare for it. If it’s in the early morning, sleep early the night before so you can wake up early. If it’s late at night, make sure you’re still physically alert. Quiet Time is fellowship with a holy God, you must be fully attentive to receive from Him.

3. A quiet place. Find an isolated place where you can focus. The Lord Jesus Himself during His time here on earth set that as an example. He sought out quiet places to be alone with God the 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).

4. The proper tools. Of course you will need a Bible. You should also have a pen and paper to jot down the things that you will receive from the Lord. Optional is a guitar, if you can play one, to sing worship songs to the Lord.

5. A recommended procedure. You can start off with singing worship songs, then prayer. After that you can now read the Bible. Everything should be culminated with meditation. It is like waiting upon the Lord for whatever it is He would like to speak to you. (This is only a suggestion, you can always customize it.)

Our attention should be on these 5 factors to make the most out of our Quiet Time with God.

While it can be difficult to prioritize Quiet Time, we must realize that having it is essential not only for stress relief, but more importantly for our spiritual growth.

Preparing our heart to receive from the Lord will require a lot of focus and self-discipline. In the long run, it is still us who will benefit from our daily communion with God. We will have more strength, courage, excitement, hope, and passion to continue living life, whatever may come to pass.

Relationship NOT Ritual

Before I end this series, let me first give you this most important reminder about Quiet Time:

Always remember that spending time with God is about our relationship with Him, not obligatory ritual.

We will just be wasting time the moment we treat it as routine and mandatory. The moment we receive God as personal Lord and Savior through Jesus Christ, we had a relationship with Him. It is open and we have free access to Him.

Don’t wait for better days to come before doing this, or when you’re morally ready. Start it right NOW. God longs to have fellowship with you, whoever you are. Go ahead. Don’t be afraid.