How to Have an Effective Quiet Time

Having an effective quiet time on a daily basis is, by far, one of the most important things you can do to grow your walk with the Lord. When you spend time in the Bible, you’ll be much more equipped to handle life. It’s like being rejuvenated.

As a pastor’s wife, you’re constantly serving others. Therefore, it’s extra important you are filled with God’s Word. You can’t pour from a dry cistern. Here are a few tips to help you make your quiet time an effective way to drink from the springs of Living Water.

Find a Time

It’s important that you find A time every day. As you minister to your church and your family, you may find that it’s next to impossible to structure your quiet time at the same time every day. Instead of worrying about making a schedule, make sure to be in the Word at least once a day. This is a specific time, set aside for yourself and not for the purpose of ministry.

Some days it may be in the morning and others might be in the evening. Sometimes you might have to hide quietly in your bathroom while you soak in God’s word for five minutes. But that’s OK! I want you to commit to not going to bed without having spent time in the Bible at some point during the day.

Study For Yourself

I can imagine you probably spend a good deal of time counseling other women from Scripture. Perhaps you’re discipling a new believer or maybe you’ve been doing some crisis counseling. Whatever the case, there’s a temptation to consider your time spent in the Word, preparing for others, a sufficient quiet time for yourself. I’d like to encourage you to read and meditate on God’s Word apart from the time spent preparing to teach. You need to soak up the Scripture in a way that doesn’t feel like you’re only ever preparing for someone else. Have you ever been there? You’ve spent time in the Word, preparing for Sunday School or other responsibilities, but suddenly you realize…you haven’t really applied what you’re reading to yourself.

Satan can easily tempt us to believe that if we are studying God’s Word for the purpose of teaching others, then that’s all we need. A quiet time is different. You need a time of refreshing, just for you, when you’re not thinking about how to use the Bible to teach or counsel. That’s the way the Holy Spirit refreshes your soul. Bask in it, my friend!

Find a Passage

I have found that one of the most difficult things to overcome in having an effective quiet time is figuring out what to read. It can be difficult to figure out exactly which passage to meditate on. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• PSALMS – The Psalms are so full of hope and encouragement that they are a great place to start reading when you aren’t sure where to start. I would recommend starting at the first chapter and working your way through the entire book.
• PROVERBS –  Proverbs has 31 chapters which makes it the perfect book to read in a month. Read one chapter for every day of the month. Don’t worry if you miss a day! Just skip the chapter and go onto the next chapter that matches the date.
• THE GOSPELS –  The Gospels are fascinating to read and will teach you all about Jesus’ life and ministry while he was here on Earth.
• THE EPISTLES –  The Epistles are some of my favorite places to read because I am a very practical person and I find them to be very applicable.

Try to be intentional in what you read. Don’t just let your Bible fall open and start reading there. In fact, you can even pray and ask God to direct you to the passage He would have you study.

Dig In!

Start now! Make having a daily quiet time a habit. Enjoy spending time in God’s Word and letting the Holy Spirit guide you as you read. Refresh your soul, my sweet sister!

First published at allnaturaljoy.com