effective quiet times w/God

Quiet Times

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Our daily transformation into the new self will hinge upon a daily devotion time with God. This is often referred to as a "quiet time." The quiet time helps us get connected with God, learn his word and worship him. If we want to walk in enduring freedom, we will have to be having regular quiet times.

Suggestions for effective quiet times:

Find a quiet place with no (or minimal) distractions
Have it in the morning: If you start the day with God, you are more likely to live for Him during the rest of the day.
Choose a posture that won't cause you to fall asleep
Pray for peace: "Father, I come to meet with you this morning. Please send your peace to my mind and this place. I bind all evil spirits seeking to distract me, in Jesus' name. Amen."
Be flexible: Don't feel that you have to do the same thing every quiet time. Allow the Lord to lead you and show you what he wants you to do each day.

Main activities to include in your quiet time

Praise and worship God: Praise and worship helps set our minds on God for the day. It also glorifies God and establishes a protective spiritual covering over us. Thanksgiving is a key ingredient in praise and worship. The Psalmist writes, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name" in Psalm 100:4 NKJV. We should approach God in thanksgiving as we praise and worship him.

There are many ways to express thanksgiving. We can start by thanking God for every good thing he has done in our life. When I thank God, I go through areas like my salvation in Christ, health, family, possessions, freedom from addiction, power for living, love God has for me, and identity as a son of God. I find that I have many things to be thankful for!

Worshiping God is something we do by how we live, how we use our bodies and how we think. Our worship in the quiet time should be the start of an all-day activity. Here are some suggestions for worshiping God in the quiet time:

Read the Word aloud: I find that reading some psalms is a great way to worship God. Psalms often express praise and worship of the Lord. This helps me set my mind on God.
Sing: The primary reason God gave us a voice is to sing to him! Singing along with a worship CD is a great way to praise to God. As I sing, I concentrate on the meaning of the words, and avoid distractions. I find that it is helpful to close my eyes and imagine myself in God's throne room as I sing. After all, if I was singing for the leader of my country, I'd be focused on doing a good job. How much more so for the Creator of the universe!
Use your body: Our bodies are "for the Lord" (1 Corinthians 6:13). Don't be afraid to use your body to express your worship. In the Psalms, worship is expressed in many ways, including raising the hands, clapping, proclaiming, singing, playing instruments and dancing. If you feel like doing some of these things, don't restrain yourself. It's acceptable to make a complete fool of yourself before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:13-15). This helps you shed off any pride you might have. It also opens the door for the Lord to touch your life with joy and gladness. See our praise page for more info.

Pray: Prayer is our communication link with God. Prayer connects us with God, the source of the life and power we need to walk in purity. We can't afford to be disconnected from God! Are you talking to God on a regular basis? If you do not, the quiet time is a great place to begin. Here are some suggested things to pray:

Confess your recent sins (known and unknown) and ask God's forgiveness through Jesus.
Tell God how much you love him and appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for you
Submit your requests to God, while thanking him for what he's already done for you
Ask God to help you continue cast off the old sinful self and put on the new self in Christ
Ask for God's will to be done in your life today
In the name of Jesus, bind up any plans Satan may have against you for today
Pray for other people's needs as they come to mind
Pray about miscellaneous topics as the Lord brings them to your mind
Present your body to God as an instrument for righteousness (Romans 6:13) and not for sin. Here is one that I often pray:
"My body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed, and sanctified by the Blood of Jesus. My members, the parts of my body, are instruments of righteousness, yielded to God for His service and for His glory. The devil has no place in me, no power over me, no unsettled claims against me. All has been settled by the Blood of Jesus. I overcome Satan by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony, and I love not my life unto death. My body is for the Lord and the Lord is for my body." Amen" (Reprinted from Derek Prince Ministries Intl.)

Don't feel that you need to talk the whole time. It's good to allow some silent time in case God wants to speak to you! Sometimes just being quiet before the Lord can bring tremendous peace, comfort and revelation.

Pray expectantly, knowing that your requests are being heard and acted on by God. God may choose to answer your prayer differently from what you asked, or in a different time frame than you expected. Don't allow that to hinder your faith. When you combine faith with prayer, things will start to happen!

Study the Bible: Jesus said that he was the "bread of life," and encouraged his followers to feed on his flesh. He said in John 6:56, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” He was talking spiritually, and meant that our spiritual bodies need daily nourishment from the Bible. If we don't feed our spiritual body, we can't expect to have strength to fight the spiritual battles of temptation.

The scriptures tell us everything we need to know living in purity (2 Peter 1:3-4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible contains the promises of God that we can stand on in faith. The promises also serve as weapons with which we can fight temptations. If we don’t know the promises, we will have a hard time standing in freedom and fighting the devil. When Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness, he quoted scripture exclusively to defeat him (Luke 4).

The Bible serves another important function. It helps re-program our minds with God's plan for healthy living. Our daily life in the world can easily erode our conscience and convictions concerning sin. The Bible helps renew our conscience. It helps us better discern between good and evil.

Consider what God told Joshua as he prepared to enter the promised land: “Do not let this Book of Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8 NIV). As with Joshua, God's word will help us be prosperous and successful. It will also help us keep our way pure. Consider Psalm 119:9-11 NIV: “⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. ¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” With the word loaded into our hearts, we have an added safeguard against falling into sin.

Before you begin reading your Bible, pray that God will open your eyes and teach you. Ask God to open your spiritual ears and eyes to His Word. Then, as you read, look for aspects that ring true for your situation. If you have difficulty understanding the Bible, you may want to obtain an easy-to-read translation. Examples include the New Living Translation, the Amplified Bible and the New King James version.

In my quiet time, I read at least one chapter from the New Testament and then one from the Old Testament. I have found it beneficial to pick out a theme I want to learn more about. Some example themes I have studied include Moses, Joshua, the healing ministry of Jesus, lust, sex sin, the new man in Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is really no limit to the possible studies you can do. Though devotional books are sometimes helpful, I encourage you to study the Bible directly during the quiet time. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and give you understanding about what you are reading.

After God delivered me completely from sex addiction, the scriptures became "alive" to me. I found a tremendous amount of the Bible that I could relate to in a new way. The Bible has many passages about rescue, deliverance, healing, renewal and restoration, all of which applied to my situation. I believe God also desires to teach you through His word about the new life He has for you. He wants to deliver you, heal you, renew you and shape you into a new person through Jesus. The Bible is the essential textbook for that process!

Journal: The journal is a great tool to keep track of your walk with God. Consider what one of our visitors wrote:

"I had started a journal when I started the Freedom Journey. I noticed that when I started slacking in being involved each day with journal entries that some of my thoughts from the past that I wanted to get rid of started coming back. I just wanted others to know that if they are serious about breaking their bondage to whatever addiction or sin that they may have, that being involved with their journal and placing prayers or bible passages in it will strengthen their faith and help them remain committed each day so that their previous addictions will lose their foothold."

I begin each day's entry with some comments about what God has been teaching me. I then take notes on the Bible chapters I read, jotting down any verses that stand out to me. I write some of these verses on 3X5 note cards to review later for memory. I also put a star next to any special revelations the Lord gives me in my reading. Periodically I will review my past journal entries, paying special attention the star-marked notes. This can be a great encouragement, especially when I'm feeling depressed or unsure of where I'm headed.

Personal Application Questions

Take a moment to write a brief self-assessment of your quiet times with God.
What areas need improvement, considering the main areas mentioned on this page?
If you are not having regular daily quiet times, what excuses have been standing in your way?
Please take your excuse list before God in prayer right now. Confess your neglect to God. Ask him to rekindle the passion in your heart to meet with him. Ask him to help you make it a priority to meet with him, no matter what.
Take a moment to write down the steps you will take from this point on to ensure that you have daily quiet times.

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