5 things to help your quiet time

I am by no means a professional in the area of spending quality time with the Lord, but recently my eyes have been opened to some practices that have helped me to feel like I have had a more intimate quiet time.

1. Play some worship music.

-Whether you are into hymns or music by David Crowder, the truth is when you are trying to get ready to have your quiet time, play whatever type of music that is in the background. Believe it or not you will subconsciously take in the message of the music, your head and heart will be slowed down and more receptive to the thought of sitting down with the Lord.

2. Be prepared to get off your high horse and lay face first on the ground.

- I know for sure that sometimes I have issues with my pride, and who doesn’t? American culture and more importantly a sinful nature has made us all that way. I have found that sometimes laying prostrate on my bedroom floor and praying before I get into my reading and such, reminds me that I am nothing without Him and kind of symbolizes that I am making myself fully available to whatever the Lord has to say to me at that point in time.

3. Contemplate for a minute that God has been waiting all day for this.

- Proverbs 8:17 says, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me." There are several passages in the bible with this same message and what a promise by the Lord! All day long the Lord is prepared to answer your request to meet him if only we take the time to do it. Grasp the fact that the creator of all creation has been waiting all day, (and most likely been more excited than us) to meet with us for even five minutes.

4. Understand that your prayers don’t have to be proper.

- Jesus himself addressed the father in a very informal matter during most of his prayers, we understand that we can do the same. Romans 8:15-17 says, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Your father doesn’t require you speak to him like the president, he just wants you to lay out what’s on your heart. The simple and honest truth, all your concerns, all your fears and everything else that might be on your mind. Don’t make prayer more of a chore than a joy.

5. It’s ok to say nothing at all.

- Sometimes we should understand that actually using the word quiet in quiet time isn’t a bad thing. The spirit has things to say to us in the still small quietness of our submission. In Lamentations 3:26-29 we are told that, "It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust- there may yet be hope."

I hope and pray that we as a people would get more serious about spending time with the one who gave it all for a creation that is rebellious and undisciplined. Take time to talk to the Lord today, it’s not a chore it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.

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