Hi again!! It’s me, coming at you with one of my all time favorite topics, and one that used to stress me out and intimidate me to no end. Having a good quiet time routine. The reason this topic used to stress me out is because I felt like there was all this weird pressure around having a quiet time. Like if I didn’t have it, or I didn’t have it right, if it wasn’t in the morning, or if I missed a day or a few days I wasn’t walking with Jesus and I was failing as a Christian. Now that I am a little bit further along in my walk with Christ I know how ridiculous that is, and I hope that this little post encourages you and maybe gives you a little bit of quiet time freedom so that you are really able to fully enjoy and benefit from your time with Jesus.

The first, and most important thing, is that there is no such thing as the perfect quiet time. We are human beings participating in a relationship with a perfect God and trying to map out the “right” way to do it. It just won’t work. There is no formula or equation for this just like there isn’t a formula or equation for any relationship we have. It’s all individual and it comes down to you and Jesus. So there we go. We just removed all of the pressure. Take a deep breath.

Your quiet time doesn’t make you a Christian, your relationship with Jesus does. I have seen people in my life who read their Bibles every day, and don’t have any fruit in their lives of actually walking with Jesus. I think it’s really important to put quiet time in its place. It isn’t an item on our Christian “to do” list that we have to check off. It isn’t a chore to be completed. It should never be a legalistic ritual that is a part of our day because it’s just what we are supposed to do.

Our quiet time needs to be an intentional time to create and establish relationship with God. There isn’t a perfect way to do it, and if you haven’t figured out what works for you yet, that is OK! It doesn’t make you any less of a Christian. The important thing is not that you follow a program, but that you carve out time to meet with Jesus. The more time you spend with Him the more you will want to spend with Him. The more you know Him the more you realize how deeply you need Him. That’s just how it goes. But you have to have your heart open and be in your quiet times to meet with Him and not just because you’re supposed to be there.

Now, that being said, there are several things I have learned over the years that I want to pass on to you because they have really helped me create a quiet time routine that I love and grow from every day.

So, here are my best tips for establishing a healthy quiet time:

1) There is no replacement for the Bible.

There is no book, no devotional, no podcast, and no app that will allow you to know Jesus like the Bible. It is the living and active Word of God. The Bible is 100% inspired by Him for the express purpose of us being able to know Him better.

It truly doesn’t get better than that. I totally understand that diving into the Bible if you haven’t ever spent any time reading it can be super intimidating. It’s a really big book with a lot of pages. My recommendation is to start in the Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the four eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life on earth and they are an excellent starting place for anybody just starting out with reading the Bible. I also recommend finding a good little devotional that will lead you to different passages of scripture. Those books are super useful if you need help navigating the scriptures. I recommend a bunch of my favorites over on my instagram page! My other recommendation for this is to get a good, easy to read, Study Bible. My personal favorite is the Word For Today Bible by Chuck Smith. Sometimes, having a little commentary under the scripture can be super helpful if it is a passage you don’t totally understand. Pastor Chuck’s commentaries are all very simple and easy to read.

2) Get your heart ready.

This could be anything from listening to worship music, to spending some time praying, to reading a quick devotional. I think it’s so important to get our hearts right and get rid of all of our distractions before seeking Jesus. Having our hearts ready to hear from Him is a huge step.

3) Have a journal nearby.

I always keep a little jar of pens and a journal by my bed so that if something really sticks out to me in my quiet time I can grab it really fast and write it down. I’ve also been starting to journal every morning, writing down my biggest takeaways from my quiet time, and then jotting down a few goals for the day. It helps me to focus my mind and get my heart ready for the day. I also find that when I physically write things down I remember them better. So, writing a scripture that spoke to me, or something that I learned really helps it stick in my heart and mind.

4) Put your phone far away.

I usually put my phone on silent, across the room from me, so that I’m not tempted to grab it and check it every time it lights up. I don’t want any distractions when I’m focusing my heart on Jesus. I can’t hear from Him if I’m looking to hear from anybody else at the same time.

5) Be consistent.

Sometimes it can be really hard to turn of all the distractions and actually sit down and have a quiet time. I know I have skipped it many a time just because I wasn’t feeling like it. But choosing to sit down and do it whether or not you feel like it will be so rewarding. It’s honestly crazy how the more you read the Bible the more you will want to read the Bible. The closer you get to Jesus the more you will want to spend time with Him. So, if you’re struggling to actually sit down and open up your Bible, remind yourself of how much more at peace your heart will be when you’re done, put your phone away, and do it. It gets a little bit easier every single day and you will get to a point where, if you miss your quiet time, you feel it and you miss it. That’s just how relationship with God works, it is good and beautiful, and the more of it we have, the more we will want.

Those are my top 5 tips for a healthy quiet time. I want to remind you guys that seeking Jesus is not about a feeling. There will be a lot of times in your life when God is quiet and you can’t feel Him, and you don’t hear Him speaking to you. And that is ok. It doesn’t mean something is wrong, it just means that you have to keep pressing in and seeking Him. He won’t be quiet forever, just for that season, and He always brings good from it.

I love you guys, if you ever want to chat about having a quiet time, or you are feeling lost and overwhelmed by it, I am always here to chat and would love to talk to you about it! Send me a DM on instagram (@sarahpaigediaries), or even an e-mail (sarahpaigediaries@gmail.com). I can promise you, once you have established a healthy quiet time, you won’t ever want to go back.

I love, love, love you all

Sarah Paige

1 Corinthians 16:13

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

Creating a Healthy Quiet Time

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