“For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal
can there be than to know God.” (J.I. Packer)
Your spiritual growth comes from study in the Word of God, time spent in prayer and fellowship with other believers. It all begins with your own personal Quiet Time alone with God. Quiet Time refers to a period of time during your day when you get alone with God and spend some quality time in Bible study, prayer and meditation with Him.
HERE’S A STEP-BY-STEP WAY TO GET STARTED:
(1) Determine the necessity of your Quiet Time. You need to determine in your heart that this is priority #1 for you. That it’s not just important— but that it’s ESSENTIAL! This is God’s will for you and it is also your will to do it.
Six Reasons Why We Need To Have A Quiet Time...
1. God made us for fellowship with Him.
(I John 1:3)
2. We can’t love or trust God without knowing Him.
(I John 4:7)
3. We can’t do God’s will unless we know it, and we can’t know it unless we know how to hear Him. (John 10:3-4)
4. Spiritual life demands spiritual food and this comes from God.
(I Peter 2:2-3)
5. It’s the only way we can develop and increase our faith.
(Romans 10:17)
6. We are commanded to do so by God.
(Matthew 6:33)
(2) Determine the time for your Quiet Time. You will need to set a time every day that you are going to spend alone with God. The best time is early in the morning before you start your day. (Start it with God.) However, your schedule may prohibit that and you may have to do it at lunch or even in the evening. The important thing is that you establish a firm time that you will have your Quiet Time and have that appointment every day with God.
__Morning __Lunch __Afternoon __Evening is the best time for me.
(3) Determine the place for your Quiet Time. It’s imperative that you choose a place that is quiet and free from interruptions. You shouldn’t have your Quiet Time in front of the T.V. or with the radio or stereo going. Quiet Time means just that. Find a place that is quiet, and let that be your secret place (Psalm 91:1-2) to have fellowship with God.
__Home __Office __Library __Park is the best place for me.
(4) Take the first few moments to acknowledge God's presence. In Psalm 46:10, God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Take the first few moments of your Quiet Time to simply realize and recognize that God is right there with you and that He is anxiously waiting to have fellowship with you.
(5) Read the Bible first, then take time to pray. George Mueller, a great man of God from many years ago, did this because he said that he always found something new to praise God for that way.
When you read the Bible in your Quiet Time, don’t read to teach. Read to be challenged and inspired in your own life.
You can read “THE ONE YEAR BIBLE” every day. It is published by Tyndale and provides the simplest Bible reading plan. Each day you have readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. It takes approximately ten minutes to read each day’s section and you will read through the entire Bible in one year’s time by using this method.
You can also read at least one chapter from Proverbs each day as well. Whatever the date on the calendar, that’s the corresponding chapter of Proverbs you read for that day. (i.e. On January 1st, read Proverbs 1. On January 2nd, read Proverbs 2, etc.)
You may also want to pick some growth passages from the New Testament and study them for an entire week or more. Here are a few suggestions: Colossians 3, Ephesians 4, John 15, Philippians 2, Galatians 4, Luke 14, John 10, Romans 8, Romans 11, II Timothy 1, Titus 3, etc.
As you read, you should take notes, make lists, write down questions you have— and always pray, before you read, for the Spirit of God to give you wisdom and understanding. You might pray like this: “Lord, speak to me through these words today.”
As you develop a Quiet Time and your personal fellowship with God deepens, you will notice an increasing hunger for the Word of God. The messages you hear on Sundays, plus the lessons you study in Bible study classes will spur your thoughts to even greater study. All of that input will help increase your knowledge of the Word. You’ll find yourself not wanting to miss a single chance to study the Word because of the benefits you’ll receive from those studies.
(6) Develop a prayer time and have a pattern for praying. Your prayer life can be likened to plugging a cord into a wall socket. The power is there if you just make the connection between the power source and the object requiring power. Through prayer, you can plug into the greatest source of power in all the universe.
What activity are you going to unplug to make time for the Lord every day?
HERE IS A SIMPLE PATTERN FOR PRAYER:
1. Be still for a few moments and just thank God for His presence.
2. Praise Him, adore Him and worship Him, even with a song.
3. Thanksgiving. Tell God what you are thankful for and why.
4. Confession. Confess your sins to Him and claim the promise of I John 1:9.
5. Pray for others. This is called intercession. Pray for those who are unsaved. (You ought to keep a list of these.) Pray for those you have a burden for. Pray for those who are sick. Pray for your church, church leaders, pastors, missionaries and mission works around the world, other ministries, etc. Ask God to lay certain indi- viduals and needs upon your heart.
6. Pray for your own needs: material, spiritual, emotional, decisions you have to make, etc. Luke 11:9-10 says, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
