5 Tools for the Days When Your Quiet Time With Jesus Is Boring
We’re sitting on my couch when my friend asks a question that no one has ever asked me: “Is your daily quiet time with Jesus bringing you into life-giving encounters with him?”
I stare blankly at my friend while the wrens chatter outside the window.
Then, I tell her the gut-honest truth: Most days, I’m just checking “quiet time with Jesus” off a list of things to accomplish for the day. It’s one more task on a never-ending list.
I wonder if you can relate.
Perhaps you want to connect with God in the quiet moments of your days, but you’re distracted, restless, and quite possibly even bored. If you’re like me, you’re probably embarrassed to admit it, so you plod along and don’t mention the struggle.
Most of us have been here: We want to connect with God in the quiet moments of our days, but we’re distracted, restless, and quite possibly even bored.#quiettime #Biblereading #prayer #seekingGod Click To TweetHow to Transform Your Quiet Time With Jesus
It’s been a few months since my friend asked me about my quiet time with Jesus.
My friend ignited a deep passion to change the way I see my relationship with Jesus. Today I’m sharing my journey and praying my insights will breathe passion into your relationship with the Lord, as well.
My change began when I stopped considering time with the Lord one more check on a list.
I started to incorporate life-giving activities into my regular routine.
I also discovered these five strategies to help me encounter God through the spiritual disciplines I pursue:
Five Steps to Take
1. Enter into God’s Word instead of skimming.
I’ve interacted with the Bible in many ways throughout my life.
I’ve read it cover-to-cover using various translations, journeyed through a chronological version, and followed daily readings through guides such as The Book of Common Prayer. I have studied Greek and Hebrew, memorized large chunks and individual verses, and vowed that I’m not putting the Bible down until God impresses something upon my heart from the text. All of these methods have worked for a season.
But what happens when you’re ready for something different?
In her book Sacred Rhythms, Ruth Haley Barton offers an example of how to enter into God’s Word in an interactive way. Her encouragement is simple: Imagine you are the blind beggar along the road, the paralytic by the pool, the bleeding woman, or an onlooker in some Bible passage.
Imagine the scene. Take it a step further and do some research on what sights, sounds, and smells might have been present at the moment.
Allow yourself to step inside the story as you read.
You will most likely find yourself asking questions that lead to further research. You might even encounter Christ himself through this experience of sanctified imagination.
2. Change your quiet time with Jesus by approaching prayer as a two-way conversation.
This is a simple reminder I need almost every day.
It’s easy to run through our list of prayer requests without stilling ourselves to listen for the impressions God wants to put on our hearts. Make it a practice to sit in silence as much as you talk when you pray.
Remain attentive to any Scripture God puts on your heart.
Test the impressions against the Word of God, common wisdom, and with other experienced believers, but remember that God longs for a relationship. Allow him to speak into your quiet time as much as you speak into it.
3. Ask questions during your quiet time with Jesus.
I often ask Jesus if he wants me to release anything to him. This question mirrors David’s prayer, “Search my heart, and show me if there is any offensive way within me.”
God often gives me a gentle reminder to release control over some part of my life.
He might goad me to release my grip on a certain situation, release my children, or release my expectations.
Ask God what he wants you to release, and ask what he wants you to receive in return. You might be surprised as you recognize patterns that are strongholds in your life.
4. Adopt physical postures during prayer.
When I struggle to focus during prayer (which is often), adopting physical postures is a helpful method.
You might begin your prayer time with open arms in a posture of surrender to the Lord. Continue by giving thanks with raised hands. Confess with open palms. Release cares with outspread arms, and receive with open hands.
While this is uncomfortable for most of us, it is very useful in promoting focus and posturing our hearts in humility to receive from God.
In addition to prayer postures, praying through the names of God or prayer steps can be a helpful tool. Pastor Richard LaFountain offers a wealth of insight on praying through various steps and prayer postures on his Prayer Today website.
5. Pursue silence and solitude in your quiet time with Jesus.
Simply resting in the awareness that we are loved by God is a powerful and revitalizing activity.
At the end of each day, I still my soul to rest in the awareness of God’s love.
Like sitting with a trusted friend in silent enjoyment along a lake or by the ocean, simply quieting ourselves for a few minutes, all while meditating on God’s love for us, is a refreshing way to encounter him.
Ruth Haley Barton wrote an entire book on this practice, called Invitation to Solitude and Silence. This book transformed the way I perceived “stillness” forever.
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Some days, you will be distracted in your quiet time. Don’t give up. I’m learning to see every distracted moment as a new opportunity to return to my gaze on Jesus. One thousand distractions will lead a soul to turn to Jesus one thousand times. He is not condemning us. He is waiting with open arms.
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Attention, all moms and daughters!
Lastly, in addition to writing to adults, I am also passionate about ministering to the next generation.
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