What To Do During Your Quiet Time with God

Anyone who's ever made a major life change knows that it happens one small step at a time.

Eating better, drinking more water, exercising regularly, handling money more responsibly, getting more sleep, spending time daily with God. All of these goals are hard to achieve, requiring big adjustments to my everyday lifestyle, but those big adjustments never seem to stick. Small changes, baby steps, are a lot easier to implement and a lot easier to maintain.

I was compensated by Puritan's Pride for this post. All opinions expressed here are my own.

So my one small step was a daily quiet time.

When I first started incorporating quiet time into my mornings, I was diligent about doing it every day.

I had to find ways to make quiet time work when my kids were awake (and often harassing me).

Recently, it hasn't gone as well as I wanted. This past week, I only managed one day. The days when I didn't have quiet time were harried and frantic, and I felt pulled in a hundred directions while I accomplished absolutely nothing.

It makes such a difference. I can't overestimate the difference those twenty to thirty minutes of peaceful time make in my day.

I've had a few emails asking me just how I have this quiet time, so I thought I'd share that below.

What To Do During Your Quiet Time with God

Quiet time, for me, happens during breakfast, so I set my materials out before I grab my food. Once I'm seated at the table, here's my plan:

1. Pray – This is simple, asking God to fill me with the Spirit and to open my mind and heart to the message He has for me. I don't journal this.
2. Search the Word – Find any scripture that comes up for me during prayer or has been on my mind. (This doesn't always happen.)
3. Open up my current Bible study – If nothing distracts me, I open up to where I've left off in Breaking Free. It is full of scripture – references literally in every paragraph. I look up every reference, reading the verses before and after and the footnotes in my Study Bible. Sometimes, I open up the YouVersion Bible app on my phone and read the passage in several different versions. I record any verses that pierce me in my journal. I go back and forth between the Bible study book and the Bible until I am satiated, until my brain and heart can hold no more.
4. Ruminate – Then I do nothing. For as long as I can (because my kids are right there and often wanting my attention), I meditate on whatever has impacted me from my reading.
5. Pray – This is the prayer I write in my journal. I record any scriptures God has impressed upon my heart. I record my gratitude, my interpretation, my requests, whatever comes. This is almost a free writing for those of you who've studied writing. I just write what my heart tells me to write.

I rarely get a full half hour, so sometimes I stop in the middle and have to come back later. It works. As I said in a previous post, it's the beginning of a conversation, so as long as I get to step 3, the dialogue is open. I can get a snack, squash a squabble, play Barbies, read a book, or whatever else my kids need me to do while I ruminate on His Word. It percolates and rattles around in my little brain.

What I don't get to every day is the written prayer. I wish I could, but I don't.

This is a season of my life; I think He understands.

Everyone's quiet time is different.

• Heather from GodCenteredMom.com uses a 3 question approach: “What does God's Word say? What does God's Word mean? What does God's Word mean to me?”
• Amy from MomsToolbox.com uses the SOAP method: Scripture, Observations, Application, Prayer
• Susannah at Doorposts.com illustrates the verses in her Bible, right in the pages of the Bible itself
• Katie Orr and Lara Williams wrote an ebook called Savoring Living Water: How to Have an Effective Quiet Time. I have it, and it's helpful.
• Jen Hatmaker, one of my favorite Christian writers ever wrote a mom's devotional called Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load, and she makes it easy to do a quick and easy Bible study based on the experiences of a very real and very authentic young mom.

One Small Change – Puritan's Pride

Puritan's Pride, maker of the finest quality nutritional supplements, is challenging Americans to make one small change toward better health.

Taking baby steps is the only way to make a lasting change in your life, and it's not too late to participate – or to get in on the One Small Change sweepstakes.

One small change is all it takes to improve your health and your life.

This is the third in a 3-post series about Puritan Pride's One Small Change campaign. I'll update you again in a couple of weeks to let you know how my quiet time habit is going and how it is affecting the rest of my day.

Connect with Puritan's Pride

One small change can have big results on your health.  Start today. Pledge your change to Puritan's Pride, and you can enter to win $2,000 plus products to support your healthier lifestyle.

To enter the One Small Change sweepstakes, pledge your change at the sweepstakes FaceBook page.

You can connect with Puritans Pride on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Making one small change in your health habits can reap big rewards. Pledge to make one small change today. This your final chance to enter to win $2,000 plus prizes from Puritan's Pride to help you stick to your pledge.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Puritan's Pride. The opinions and text are all mine.

© 2013 – 2018, Tara Ziegmont. All rights reserved.