Hey Sweet Friend,
Do you want to have a better quiet time? Do you want to actually enjoy your quiet time with God?
I think we’ve all been there… right? We want to have a better quiet time, but we aren’t always sure exactly how? Quiet times are something we do everyday – sometimes with varying degrees of success. How can we enjoy our quiet time without it getting old and stale?
Today I am sharing 10 easy-peasy ways (with a bonus tip at the end!) to have a better quiet time. Try one or try them all! Everyone is different, so tweak any of these ideas to make them work for you!
10 Ways to Have a Better Quiet Time
1. Have a Routine
Routines can help us in many areas of our life – including our walk with God! If your quiet time isn’t routinely scheduled into your day then it’s going to be harder for you to make time for it. Choose what time of day you will have your quiet time, and then create a routine around it. If you choose to have your quiet time in the morning, your routine could like something like this…
Breakfast → Quiet Time → Get Ready → Work/School
An evening routine could look something like this:
Eat Supper → Study → Quiet Time → Sleep
Figure out a routine that works for you, and then stick with it!
2. Carve out a Special Place
Choose a special place to consistently have your quiet time each day. This could be a very simple place such as your bed, a comfy chair/recliner, the kitchen table, your desk, etc. The best thing about having a consistent place for your quiet time is that you can customize it into an ideal place. In this special place you can include any/all of the following items:
- A basket with your Bible, a notebook, and any other helpful books you use during your quiet time.
- A container for your favorite pens, pencils, and markers
- A warm blanket
- A comfy, cozy pillow
- A candle in your favorite fragrance
- A place to set your hot drink
- A framed Bible verse or inspiring quote that you love
Any/all of the above items can help make your quiet times more exciting and meaningful. So, choose a special place and customize to your liking! Then you can look forward to coming to this place everyday!
Quick Tip: Just because you have a special place that you consistently visit for you quiet time, doesn’t mean you can’t switch it up form time to time. Just think of this place as your “home base” for most of your quiet times with God!
3. Pray for Clarity
Before you even begin your quiet time, stop and talk to the Lord for just a few moments. Ask God to open your eyes to what He has for you today in the Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you clarity as you read the Word of God, and pray for grace and help to apply what you read.
Sometimes we open the Bible and read it without truly seeking to understand what we are reading (and yes, I have done this many times!). However, when we consciously ask the Lord for clarity, then we are already prepared to read God’s Word with an open heart and mind.
Once you pray and ask the Lord for clarity, then you can read the Bible in expectancy – this is a prayer that God loves to hear and answer! You will be amazed as the Holy Spirit guides you to verses you needed to read, and as your eyes are opened to new truths you have not noticed previously!
Remember: Before you begin your quiet time, stop and ask the Lord for clarity and understanding while you read His Word!
4. Follow A Plan
By following a plan, I mean a Bible Reading Plan. Sometimes in our haste to read the Bible, we blindly open God’s Word and read Scripture in a haphazard way. There definitely will be times when we read God’s Word at random (sometimes the Holy Spirit will take us right to a passage we need to read!). However, many times this flip + read method of reading God’s Word is less than effective for our daily quiet times.
Before you begin your quiet time, have a plan.
There are lots of Bible reading plans out there. Some of the “read the Bible in a year” plans can be a bit overwhelming, so start with something simple.
I often save Bible reading plans onto my Prayer and Bible Study board on Pinterest. Or you can come up with something that works well for you. Here are some ideas:
Choose one book of the Bible to read/study each month. I’m currently doing this and I love it! Check out my monthly to-do lists for a new book of the Bible to study each month!
Read one chapter of the Old + New Testament each day. Such as one Psalm and one chapter in the Gospels.
Read passages about a certain topic. Want to learn more about joy… or faith? Do a search for all the passages in the Bible related to your chosen topic and read one passage each day.
Read straight through the Bible. Maybe your reading style is from beginning to end. If this is the way you like to read then go for it! Don’t get discouraged in the hard to understand books of the Old Testament. Pray for clarity and use a study Bible when needed.
Without a plan, you may feel lost when you pick up your Bible. Have a plan before you begin!
5. Take Notes
Using a notebook/journal during your quiet times is one the BEST ways to learn and actually remember what you learn! Writing down key thoughts + verses helps to solidify them in your mind. This will also keep your mind focused as you search for new things to write down.
There are lots of different ways to take notes during your quiet time… Here are just a few ideas.
Purchase a Bible with wide margins. This way you can jot down notes inside your Bible right next to the passage that spoke to your heart,
Use a pretty journal or notebook. It could be a bullet journal or a completely blank sketch book. Use what you like and get creative with the things that you learn.
Make a scrapbook or smash book. I have a friend that makes scrapbooks out of the things she learns in her quiet times. She write out verses, tapes in missionary prayer cards, and makes a pretty scrapbook out of everything she’s learned. This is her way of documenting her spiritual journey. Maybe this way is perfect for you too.
>>> Related Post: How to Use a Journal During Your Quiet Time
Quick Tip: I also love using these inexpensive ink pens in my journal!
6. Use Colored Pencils
This method is sooo much fun! You might just feel like a little kid again as you shade and highlight key verses in your Bible. The first time I used colored pencils in my Bible was years ago in my Sunday School class. My Sunday School teacher told all of us girls to go home and read through the book of Proverbs. As we read through Proverbs we were supposed to highlight any verses about anger using an orange colored pencil.
A little while later, I was reading an Elizabeth George book, and she encouraged her readers to highlight (in pink!) all verses in the Bible that speak specifically to women.
Since both of those times, I have used this method many times. If you would look at my Bible you would see colored markings everywhere – especially in the book of Proverbs!
The wonderful thing about colored pencils is that they do not bleed through the pages. If you are interested in using colored pencils during your quiet times, then be sure to come up with some kind of color code. You can find some on Pinterest, such as this one here. Or you can make up your own.
7. Go Outside
Every now and then, it’s nice to go outside for your quiet time. Just being outside in the great outdoors can help us feel closer to the Lord – it is His creation after all! So, if the weather is nice, gather up your favorite quiet time tools and go outside! This may just become one of your favorite summertime activities!
8. Meditate on What You Read
During and after you read God’s Word, take time to meditate on the verses you read. God’s Word isn’t always easy to “digest” so we must actively think and meditate on His Word.
Write out Bible verses that speak to you… and spend extra time thinking on verses you don’t understand. While you meditate, ask the Lord to show you what it means.
Choose one or two verses each day and write them down, carry them with you, and read them as often as you can. Memorize them, pray about them, and think on them over and over again. This is how we “renew our minds” and this is how God’s Word changes and transforms our life!
We are so often tempted to read God’s Word and then forget about it for the rest of the day, but this is not how we grow and change! Allow God’s Word to be absorbed into your mind and heart. Think and meditate on His Word and your mind will be renewed!
>>> Related Post: 10 Ways a Young Woman Can Saturate Her Life With Scripture
9. Read a Study Bible or Commentary
Even after praying for clarity, and meditating on difficult verses, God’s Word can still be hard to understand. If you are struggling through a particular passage or book of the Bible, don’t feel bad if you need to reach for a study Bible or commentary.
Sometimes my quiet times are the most enjoyable when I am also using a great study guide for a particular passage. Here are some of my favorite resources:
The KJV Life Application Study Bible – I know I talk about this study Bible a LOT, but it’s incredibly helpful and easy to understand.
Elizabeth George’s Study Guides for Women – Elizabeth George has written many study guides for various books of the Bible. My favorite is the one on Proverbs 31, but all the ones I have read are very good!
Warren Wiersbe’s BE Series – This is a series of commentary books on individual books of the Bible. They are all very practical and easy to understand.
10. Take Time for Prayer
This last step is probably the hardest for me! But really, our quiet times aren’t complete without praying to our Heavenly Father!
To get the most out of your quiet time, you also need to be praying and talking to your Heavenly Father. Remember to pray for clarity, but don’t forget to pray and ask Him to reveal any sin in your heart and life that needs to be changed. Pray for grace to apply what you’ve learned during your quiet time. Take all your worries, concerns, and fears to Lord. Pray for your family, your friends, and yourself. Learn how to “pour out you heart to the Lord.” (Psalm 62:8) God’s Word will mold us and change us, but prayer is the key to applying what we learn and the key to victory in our personal lives.
So don’t forget to pray, my friend!
Bonus: Share What You Learn
After spending time in the Word of God… take a few moments to share what you learned. Text a friend, talk about it at lunch, share a verse on social media. Share with others what God is teaching you! It might just bless someone in a special way!
Final Thoughts
Our personal quiet times are key to maintaining a flourishing walk with God. Are doing all you can to consistently meet with God each day? I hope you will take these tips, tweak them to fit your learning style, and apply them to your life and daily quiet times! I’ve created a little infographic so you can save + remember what you learned from this post today. Please save it and share it with your friends!
Want to Learn More?
If you would like to learn more about quiet times and daily devotions, check out the following resources:
Overcoming Your Devotional Obstacles
I have created a special resources and printable guides for my blog readers. All you have to do to access the library is sign up for my email list. You will then be sent an email that contains the special password. Once you have access to the library you can download any of the printables you want!
>>> Was this post helpful? Please share the following image via Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest! Thanks a bunch! 😉
I love this! I actually did a quite similar post last year on my blog, entitled, “10 Ideas for your Devotional Time!” =)
I love illustrating and journaling in my Bible time, like you mentioned in points 5 and 6. I have a journaling Bible, prayer journal, and spiritual journal that I all love writing in. I also love listening to hymns as part of my devotional time, and copying down stanzas that stick out to me. On Saturday I copied down the lyrics to an entire choral piece that we sang the next day for Resurrection Sunday. It really helped me get my mind focused and think about the message the song conveys.
Thank you for this very helpful post! I will be returning to read it again several times, I’m sure =)
– Grace
sourcreamchipsgirl.blogspot.com
So glad you liked this post – it was a lot of fun to write. There’s a creative Bible on Amazon that I have been “eyeing up”. It’s like an art/journaling Bible I think. I am glad you enjoy keeping all those journals! It’s such a helpful practice in our spiritual life! 🙂 And yes, I like using hymns as well – they are so encouraging and thought provoking!
Oh… I adore your posts. This is very useful and encouraging. I will try to put on practice.
Would you like to write books? What would you write about? 🙂
Yes I would! I am working on an ebook right now – so stay tuned. I will hopefully have it up on the blog by May! 🙂
Oh, I can’t wait to see it! 😊
Thank you for this post Rebekah! It was really encouraging.☺️
Glad to hear that Micayla! ❤
Thank you for resolving the blog’s design. Now I can see more posts without scrolling too much.
I love your blog and I can’t wait to have a little more time to read your posts. They are very inspiring. I also love your Pinterest posts.
I would like to see some posts about how to be a lady/how to be feminine? How to be a Titus 2 woman? (As you do the P31 woman study and I loved it😍)
What hobbies should have a Christian girl? Or what useful activities she can do?
And some studies about women of Bible and what we can learn from them.
God bless you, sister Rebekah!
I’m so glad you enjoy the blog posts! I do have some posts on being feminine and being a lady. Just type those words in the search bar. Here are some posts you might like…. 4 Women of the Bible Every Young Woman Must Study, God’s Purpose for You as a Woman, and there’s also one about being a true lady. Just type those words/titles in the search bar and you should be able to find them ☺
I can vouch, these are all good tips :). I like to go outside to a quiet park. I take my prayer journal and some colored pencils.
I read my passage for the day, then take notes on what it means to me. I write a verse down for memory. I write about what I’m grateful for, and who needs my prayers, and what I need help with today from God. And then I pray, and sometimes I write some more.
Then I walk and think on all of it. It’s the best way to start my day. Here’s the journal I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1791863868
Thank you, Jessica. I love hearing how others spend their quiet time. Thanks for linking to the journal as well. 😊
Great tips and very welcome!
Thank you so much!