Exciting Quiet Times with Jesus!
How is metformin weight loss and pregnancy your Quiet Time?
Is reading the Bible a very fulfilling and exciting experience for you? Is it something that you can’t help but look forward to? Or is it a burden, something you are forced to do just because you want to please somebody?
It is a very very heartbreaking thing to know that a lot of people are missing out on the real life-changing power of God’s Word just because they are reading it either out of obligation, or simply just for the sake of reading it.
Is it possible to have a very exciting and vibrant quiet time with the Lord? Of course! Below is a format suggestion that I pray will help you have a more exciting and fulfilling quiet time:
Pray–>Read the Bible–>Journal–>Pray
A. Pray – I suggest, praying like how our Lord taught His disciples to pray.
1. Worship God for who He is. (Matthew 6:9) – Start your prayer by worshiping our God. This will help you reflect on who God really is for you. You see, everywhere, people have something to say about God. The pastor says something about God; your parents say something as well; even your classmates and friends do. But the question is, Personally and Honestly, Who is God for you? You can’t fake this. And so this will help you to first and foremost reflect who God really is for you.
2. Praise and Thank God for all that He has done. – After reflecting on who God is to you personally, this part will help you reflect furthermore on all the blessings and graciousness of our God toward you. Reflect and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of all the things God blessed you with..His love, all His graciousness–still blessing us despite our shortcomings; His provision for our needs, and everything else He brings to your remembrance. Don’t forget to thank God even for the “small” or “usual” blessings we receive like our health, our house, food on the table, being given another day in life, presence of family members, and many others.
3. Ask for forgiveness for all your sins, AND forgive everyone who sinned against you. (Matthew 6:12) Repenting of our sins and forgiving those who have sinned against us is a non-negotiable if we are to have a heart of worship–a right heart, prepared to be taught by and spoken to by God. Furthermore, Jesus Himself tells us that:
“14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” –Matthew 6:14-15
4. Pour out your heart to Jesus. – Christianity is all about having a love relationship with Jesus. A God that despite all His power and majesty, chooses to love and care for us and get involved with our lives.
After setting your heart right, pour out all that is in your heart before Jesus. If you feel you are spiritually dry, then tell Him if you want to be refreshed and immersed in His Word again. If you are hurting, feeling low, or anxious about anything, tell Him–He will understand. If there is anything concerning you–a loved one’s salvation/growth, financial needs, or any other concern, tell Him. Jesus will always have time to listen to you and me.
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Now, you can proceed to read the Bible.
It’s very important not to read the Bible out of obligation. If you read out of obligation, it will just be a burden for you. You will not experience the amazing power within the Bible’s pages. Reading it just because you want to please your parents, discipler, or youth pastor is reading it with a wrong motive.
It’s sad, but I actually know someone who finished the whole Bible and is continually reading it, but is always anxious, worried, and feeling down. Why is that so? Because all that person read went into his brain, became head knowledge, and stopped there–it did not sink into that person’s heart! You see Christianity is not all head-knowledge–you must believe in your heart. It’s one thing to believe in your head. It is another thing to believe in your heart.
Reading the Bible with the right perspective and motive will transform your life. You will never be the same! Reading it with the intention of knowing and discovering God’s promises to us, how much He loves us, and how He wants us to live, among others, will be like going into a vast forest discovering the wonderful things within it personally.
B. Read Bible
If you have a devotional like Campus Journal, Our Daily Bread, My Utmost for His Highest, or something similar, it would be a good thing 
Notice that there is usually a given passage for that day (e.g. Matthew 4:5-6) If that is the case, it would be great and very helpful to read the entire Matthew chapter 4(the entire chapter where the verse is located), preceding verses, or even preceding verses if needed, to be able to understand the context of the given passage.
The secret to a fulfilling quiet time is Meditating. Never do it in a hurry. Make Time for it by dedicating a specific time for it like 4 or 5am in the morning. God deserves our quality time and not its left-overs. Reflect on what you read and ask the Holy Spirit to open up the eyes of your heart and help you see the lessons in each verse you read. It will also be very helpful if you have a dictionary beside you to look-up the meanings of certain words to better understand why or how they are used.
Then ask God, “Lord, how does this apply to me?” If you read about a passage about obedience or surrendering, you may ask God, “Lord, is there something in my life you want me to surrender?”. Or, “Lord, is there an area in my life where I’m not obeying you completely?” Be sure to listen and be discerning to what God tells you
After this, you may read the devotional and gain more insight from the devotion written by the author. Likewise, you will experience real meaning if you reflect on it.
C. Journal
Journaling is simply writing down your reflections in a notebook. It could be considered as a logbook of your daily walk with God–tracking your spiritual growth, noting about answered prayer requests, writing about encounters with God and lessons you learned from them, and anything else God impresses on your heart to record. You will never regret doing this
D. Pray
Thank God for the time He spent with you. Thank Him for all the things you learned. Once again, just pour out your heart before Him. And more importantly, ask for His help to enable you to live for Him–applying the things you learned from your time with Him meditating on His Word.
I pray that we will all pursue getting to the level wherein our quiet time with Jesus is THE highlight of our day–the time we look most forward to! That if we happen miss it, we just wouldn’t feel right because we miss His presence and the life-changing experience of spending quality time with Him. Jesus loves you and longs for you to spend time with Him!
Psalm 1:1-6
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Enjoy your time with Jesus! God bless!
