Many times in life we question what is important in life. We question how we are supposed to do things, how we are supposed to react to different signs/feelings, and how we are just simply supposed to do the right thing the right way. Am I right? Well, today I am going to give you a list of things that I feel are important for "going about" this particular topic. This topic may not be for everyone, but to me, it is my whole life. I am going to talk to you guys about a "quiet time." Basically a quiet time is your time alone with Jesus. A time to sit back, meditate on His word, and simply embrace who He is. I am going to give you three ways to making this time with the Lord more successful/fulfilling.
1. PREPARATION
Preparing for a quiet time is honestly a personal preference. It depends on what makes you comfortable, and what works best for you. The number one thing that makes a quiet time successful is preparing your heart for what God is about to reveal to you. Clearing your mind of things that may hinder your attention to His word is VERY important. The devil has the ability to catch our attention to things that are ungodly, and it can really get in the way of your time with the Lord. The goodness of His grace and the evil of the devil's schemes CANNOT collide. It is just like oil and water, it can not mix, and it never will. Prepare your mind to be attentive to God's word and the things He can/will reveal to you through it.
2. PRAYER
In the previous point I did mention prayer. The whole point was dedicated to it. The main reason I separated these two is because of the way they are being processed, and what is being prayed for. This specific point is praying for the words that you read in God's word, or in a devotional, etc. This is so very important to a quiet time because sometimes we can just read the words on the page, but never get anything out of it. This makes most people feel discouraged in their quiet time, and makes them feel like God is not speaking to them. That's why clearing your mind and praying over the words to speak to you is so important. Pray that the words you read will speak to you in a way that it never has, even if you read the same verses you have read before. Praying over the words, meditating on them to speak to you in a bigger and more powerful way, and not just reading what is black and white is EXTREMELY crucial in your daily quiet time with the Lord. Anyone can read black and white, but praying over the meanings of them and allowing the living breath of them to invade your heart and mind changes the game to a whole new level. Prayer is crucial, and YOU WILL see a difference in your quiet time.
3. PERSPECTIVE
The third and final point of having a successful quiet time is knowing how we are going to apply it to our lives. This is knowing what kind of perspective we have on that certain topic and how we are going to view it. God didn't give us the Bible to read, He gave us a Bible to live. It is breathed from His body so that we can become more like Him. The words are more than just words. They are people, they are actions, they are personalities, and THEY ARE LIFE. On top of the Bible, we have millions of devotionals out there that we use daily as a part of our quiet time routine. The authors of those devotionals have made them so that you can live out His word through them and have the knowledge of His word from a different perspective. Do not allow your perspective to line up with the world's. We are called to be different, and to view things in a way that God would view them. That's our purpose.
So as you go about your daily quiet time, think about these steps. Think about the way they work, and if you're applying them to your daily quiet time. If you're not, start. These steps applied to your time with the Lord makes you think and view things on a whole new level. A level to where you're supposed to view things, the way God would want you to view things. His Word is living and breathing, but without the power of preparation, prayer, and perspective this living and breathing Word can be dead and speechless in your daily life. Take your time with God seriously, He deserves it.
