3 REASONS I Have a Regular Quiet Time (aka Devotions)

Sometimes I journal during my devotions. I write down insights, questions, responses, and prayers.

What does it mean to have devotions or a quiet time with God? It simply means putting aside time to engage in prayer and reading (the Bible or other spiritual literature).

The prayer time is more than talking to God.  It is also listening to Him. I find that I “hear” most of His responses when I read the Bible.

Go here to read about how to hear God’s voice.

 My reading is usually purposeful. I.e. I spend time (daily) reading the verses, chapter, or book of the Bible that my Wednesday night study group is studying. I read to understand. And I read to see what application can be made to my life. In other words, I don’t read just to read.

Having devotions in the mornings has become a habit again. I prefer morning devotions because then I know it will happen before the rest of the day’s agenda interferes. And at this time of day I can give my undivided attention to praying and reading. But like all habits (with me any way) I know that it can be easily broken if I don’t watch my environment and my motives.

Go here to read how I prepare my environment for maximum adherence to this habit.

I need to periodically go over my motives for having a regular quiet time. Knowing these reasons helps increase my stick-to-it-ness. In fact this step is helpful for maintaining any habit. And there are definite reasons I want to spend some extended time with God each morning. Here are 3 reasons.

Reason 1: Transformed Mind. It is easy for me to think mainly of myself and to think badly of people, situations, God, and even myself. The media and culture I live in support this kind of narcissistic, distorted thinking.

However, when I spend purposeful time in the the Bible, the WORD of Truth, my thinking becomes transformed. It goes from thinking according to the world and my natural reasoning to thinking thoughts aligned with God’s Word.

• Selfishness versus Servanthood
• Unforgiveness versus Forgiveness
• Enttlement versus Love
• Me-centered versus God-centered

Read and ponder Romans 12:1-2.

Reason 2: Transformed Actions. How and what I think upon radically affects what I do. How I behave shows what I think/believe in. I want my actions to reflect well on God. I want my behaviour to be consistent with Biblical mandates because being in alignment will bring me peace and wisdom. And mainly I want to be transformed to show that Christ indeed lives within me.

Read and ponder Matthew 5:16  . . . . Psalm 119:165 . . . . Proverbs 22:17-21 . . . . Galatians 2:20.

Reason 3: Transformed Relationship. In order to go from strangers to intimate friends, steps need to be taken in order to transform the relationship. To deepen any relationship there needs to be time and energy spent on that relationship. This is also true of a relationship with God. Engaging in spiritual disciplines like praying and reading the Bible help us know God better and thus deepen our relationship with Him.

As my relationship with God grows, I’ve noticed the following . . . 

• I grow to love Him more.
• I become more in awe of who He is and what He does.
• My desire to obey increases because of the thinking transformation that is taking place.

I don’t always understand God’s ways and thoughts. But I have increasingly more trust in how He governs. I think this is true because I am knowing Him better and better (mainly through my devotions) as the years advance.

Read and ponder John 15:13-15 . . . . Isaiah 55: 8-9.

These are only 3 reasons for having regular quiet times. These are my top 3 for this stage in my life.

Your Turn . . . What are some reasons you have devotions?

Related Posts . . . 

• 6 Tips to Consistent Bible Reading
• 11 Ways to Increase Intimacy with God
• Finding Obadiah and Philemon Easily
• Observation – First Part of In-Depth Bible Study
• Rev Up Your Personal Bible Study:7 Ideas to Combat B-o-r-i-n-g
• Using Your Learning Style to Feel Close to God
• What to do With a Tattered BIBLE

NOTE: This post is written for the Blogging From A to Z Challenge. There are 22 categories and my category is MI = Miscellaneous.

During the month of April I will post 26 times finishing up posts that have been in my draft fie for at least a year. For a list of all the posts go to the A-Z button on my header.

Today’s letter is R. The topic is REASONS to have a quiet time.