4 Ways to Fight for a Better Quiet Time

Bible reading and prayer… it’s the meat and potatoes of the Christian life. Although honestly, I don’t eat a lot of meat and potatoes, so it’s not my favorite analogy. The point is: A daily devotion time is a basic necessity for a healthy Christian life. It’s the back-bone of spiritual growth. It’s what grounds our daily perspective, and keeps our eyes fixed on eternal things (Psalm 119:36-37). I need it, you need it, we all need it.

I am sure you’ve found methods and tools to help your quiet time (as we often call it); here are four basic tips that have helped mine:

# 1  Buckle down regardless.

There’s always a reason to push aside quality prayer and Bible time. If it’s not the sleep deprivation from a newborn, it’s a busy work season, or a demanding ministry schedule, or the craziness of raising teenagers, or a tired body, or just a lack of discipline. How often we’ve all thought, “In the near future, it will get easier, and then I will prioritize my spiritual disciplines.” And I imagine we’ve all realized that the magical season never arrives.

When it comes down to it, if we want to have good daily quiet times, we have to buckle down and fight for it! Of course, we rely on God’s strength to do so, but still, we’ve got to decide that today is the day our time with God will be the priority it should be.

#2 Get accountability.

Accountability is key. We might have good intentions, but following through is another story. Which is why accountability is especially crucial for the long haul! There may be a season in which you’re able to maintain a good routine, but eventually it’s likely to get harder, and that’s when the benefit of accountability kicks in. That’s when iron really sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).

Practically speaking, maybe you can have a friend (or 2) that you text each day. You don’t need to give a minute-by-minute report of your quiet time, just check in to let them know you did it (or simply send an emoji that’s code for “I did it!”). And ask your friend to (kindly) nudge you when those texts don’t keep coming in.

#3 Switch it up.

Getting in a routine rut is never helpful for quiet times, so at times it may be good to switch things up. 

The switch can be as simple as doing your devotional time in a different room or chair. You can switch up whether you use an online Bible (where you can digitally highlight and organize your highlights) or use an old-school hard copy. You could use a Bible memorization app  (like Scripture Typer) or an app that helps you organize your prayers (like Echo or PrayerMate). And writing prayers in a journal is often helpful too. Then there’s prayer walks, or typing up your thoughts to God. There’s plenty of ways to switch it up and keep it fresh.

Find what works well, get creative when you aren’t as fully engaged as you should be, and keep going one way or another!

#4 Stay actively involved in ministry.

Initially, ministry might sound unrelated to devotion time. However, ministry is one of the most powerful motivations for staying grounded in spiritual disciplines. When you know someone is looking to you, learning from you, and being held accountable by you, you’ll want to stay a couple of spiritual steps ahead. Ministry forces you to know God’s word better and to live it out more. Not to mention, teaching God’s word in any capacity will get you in your Bible more, and get you to depend on prayer more.

All that to say, if you want a good quiet time, meaningful ministry at your church will surprisingly make a big difference. 

Fight For It!

Whether you think of your devotion time as the meat and potatoes of the Christian life, or maybe you’ll join me in thinking of it as the necessary coffee and chocolate of life, either way, it’s a necessity! 

So do whatever you have to do to fight for it, and make it all it should be! Get accountability, build it into life, and last but not least, be sure to enjoy your time drawing near to God (which also makes coffee and chocolate a more fitting analogy!). Again, I need it, you need it, we all need it! So let’s prioritize this daily and essential habit. 

In Him,

Heather