Achieving Your Ideal Quiet Time
How often do you set lofty goals, have good intentions, and then wind up feeling like a failure when your ideal quiet time just… doesn’t happen?
Read on to discover how I’m moving away from perfectionism to get into God’s Word every day.
Let’s talk about quiet times. I don’t know about you, but my quiet times are usually less than ideal. I’ve tried getting up earlier; but, with as late as I go to bed, 5:30 is about the earliest I can muster, and I’m still scrambling to do everything on my list before I wake up my family. I have grand plans that usually include a warm blanket, a hot cup of tea or coffee (or cocoa or cider in the winter), and long, luxurious, focused time to savor every Word on the pages of my Bible. You too?
How often do you set lofty goals, have good intentions, and then wind up feeling like a failure when your ideal quiet time just… doesn’t happen?
Maybe you want to have a picturesque sunrise. Maybe you like to be fully dressed first. Maybe you want to be able to light a candle and take your perfectly lit and framed Instagram photo. Whatever your “ideal” quiet time looks like, I have to ask you (because I’ve been asking myself), why? Why have you and I created these standards that are so hard to achieve?
I’ll be honest. Some of my unreasonable standards come from social media. I hate to admit that I see other women, women younger than me, women without kids, women with kids, women whose job is serving their family, women who work outside of the home, some women are like me, some are in a very different stage of life, and I wonder, “Why can she manage to achieve this perfect-looking quiet time and I’m interrupted by a hungry cat, a hungrier kiddo, and a grumpy old dog who wants outside, all before I’ve finished reading the first verse?
But I also know that I shouldn’t compare my life, my circumstances, or my quiet time, to other women. My goal isn’t to impress them, or to bloat my own ego. My goal is to draw closer to my Father, my Creator, and my King. My goal is to sit at the feet of my Jesus, just as Mary did, and to learn from Him, talk with Him, and bask in the light of His glory. My goal is start my day cultivating the very most important relationship in my life so that the rest of my day is aligned with His Word and His Will.
I’ve learned over the last few years that seasons change. My season this month or this week may look very different next month or next week. What works today, may not work tomorrow. Sometimes I have periods where I get 30 minutes or even more every day to sit with my Savior and drink deeply from His well. Other times I have days upon days it seems that I can barely push pause long enough to take a quick sip and get back into the trenches. But the most important thing I’ve learned is that doing something every day and meeting Him where I am is essential.
To help me get over my perfectionism, which manifests as procrastination and outright avoidance, I created different levels for my Bible reading time. Of course, my goal is to get to my ideal quiet time, a Level 4. But realistically, as long as I get in at least a Level 1 quiet time, I know that I have prioritized my time with the Lord. One caveat here, I still feel very out of balance if I am consistently only achieving a Level 1 quiet time, but my social media scrolling and general screen time is up. If I have time for Instagram and Pinterest, I have time to read my Bible. Those weeks, however, where I don’t scroll at night and I’m achieving a Level 1, I know that is a season and I try to plan several days out on my calendar to get back to more time in the Word. I set a date with Jesus and I work to keep it. Usually, I can squeeze in some Level 4 study on Sundays even if I can’t seem to manage any other day of the week.
Hopefully, sharing these different levels with you will encourage you to spend a few minutes with God, even if just a few minutes is all you have. The activities listed for each level come from my CLOSER Bible study method. Be sure to check out the CLOSER Bible study method blog post for an overview so you’ll understand each of the levels I’ve outlined below.
Level 1 - 5 minutes
Connect: pray to start your quiet time
Lean-in: read the passage of Scripture
Observe: write a 1-sentence summary of the reading
Pray for the daily prayer focus
Level 2 - 10 minutes
Connect: pray to start your quiet time; write the daily Scripture
Lean-in: read the passage of Scripture
Observe: write a 1-sentence summary
Silent: 30-second silent meditation of today’s verse
Pray for the daily prayer focus
Level 3 - 15 minutes
Connect: pray to start your quiet time; write the daily Scripture
Lean-in: read the passage of Scripture
Observe: write a 1-sentence summary; Answer: What does this passage reveal about Jesus, or how does this passage point to Jesus?
Silent: 30-second silent meditation of today’s verse
Respond & Reflect: What should I do in response to this passage?
Pray for the daily prayer focus
Write a quick prayer for the day on a sticky note
Level 4 - 30+ minutes
Connect: pray to start your quiet time; write the daily Scripture; play a worship song
Lean-in: read the passage of Scripture in multiple translations
Observe: write a 1-sentence summary; Answer: What does this passage reveal about Jesus, or how does this passage point to Jesus?
Silent: 60-second silent meditation of today’s verse
Enhance: choose one or more activities to enhance the Bible study
Respond & Reflect: What should I do in response to this passage?
Pray for the daily prayer focus
Write a quick prayer for the day on a sticky note
While my quiet times are still usually not picturesque and are often less than ideal, I have found that this system of leveling has helped me to choose my agenda for a Bible study session based on how much time I have, rather than wasting time with trying to choose a Bible study or what I should do with my limited time.
My sincerest hope is that you find this system helpful so that you too can lay aside your perfectionism and/or avoidance and spend even just a few minutes in God’s Word every single day.
