How Can I Start Having a Quiet Time With God?
Discover the transformative power of quiet, unhurried moments with God. Learn how spiritual respiration—breathing in grace and breathing out praise—can deepen your faith and bring abiding joy.
For Christians, the good news of the gospel is that we’ve been saved from our sins through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. This salvation is more than the promise of eternal life, though it includes that; it is the entrance into life in the fullest sense now that only gets better as we continue. Being born again, we are united to Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and as a result, we begin to grow as disciples, fully devoted followers of Jesus.
But how does this growth happen in our lives? One habit that believers have developed and practiced for generations is spending quiet, unhurried time with God. Like all habits, quiet time with God can be developed with intentionality to grow closer to God.
The Source and Goal of a Quiet Time
Before rushing into the practice itself, it’s important to remember the source and goal of this time: Our salvation in Christ and the resulting joy of abiding in fellowship with Him.
Our salvation in Christ by faith alone is the source of our time with God.
Inherent in the gospel message is that we are saved by faith alone, not by works. We’re not saved due to our goodness or obedience or kept from salvation because of failures and sins. Our salvation is grounded upon the love of God, which calls us out of sin and darkness and into holiness and light. This is what sent Christ to die for our sins and give us new life. By turning from our sins and believing in these things, we can and will be saved.
This is important to remember as we begin establishing rhythms of quiet time in our lives. Even when we’re saved by faith, we’re quick to feel the pull back to works and grade our quiet times on a scale that rises and falls on our efforts. Our quiet time isn’t an effort to merit God’s favor; instead, it’s a joyful response to His gracious gift of salvation. It doesn’t earn a relationship with God; however, it’s the rightful reply to the relationship we’re now in.
Abiding in fellowship with God is the goal of our time with Him.
Through salvation, we’re enabled to experience life in its fullest (John 10:10), and Scripture describes this life through the idea of abiding fellowship with God.
Abiding and having fellowship with God communicates a relationship of belonging, closeness, community, and depth. It’s the difference between knowing facts about something and actually knowing someone.
Abiding means having a relationship with God where your time together doesn’t feel like a business meeting with an agenda and purpose; instead, the ease of the relationship is more akin to a family eating breakfast together. When we abide in God’s love, the result is an unmatched fulfillment of joy. It’s a grand step to living into God’s original design for us, and you begin to experience the fullness you were made for.
What’s in a Quiet Time?
Now that we’ve established the why let’s look at the how, which addresses how we cultivate this habit and what the time contains. One helpful illustration for a quiet time is through the concept of breathing. John Wesley shared this example in his sermon on the New Birth. To grow in grace, for Wesley, is to practice spiritual respiration, as he describes by saying:
“God is continually breathing, as it were, upon the soul; and his soul is breathing unto God. Grace is descending into his heart, and prayer and praise ascending to heaven: And by this [exchange] between God and man, this fellowship with the Father and the Son, as by a kind of spiritual respiration, the life of God in the soul is sustained; and the child of God grows up, till he comes to the ‘full measure of the stature of Christ.’"
Let’s examine those two movements in your quiet time.
Breathing in is God descending into our hearts and speaking to us. One of the primary ways this happens is through reading Scripture. As Christians, we believe that the Bible is the very words of God given to us for our growth. Additionally, albeit secondary to Scripture, are resources written by believers throughout Church history, including prayers, liturgies, devotionals, studies, and books that glorify God and edify us.
Breathing out is our soul’s response to God’s goodness in prayer and praise. This response may include praying through the Scripture you read or a list, worshipping through song, answering obedience-based questions, or listening to the Spirit in a time of silence.
No matter how long you spend with God, both of these movements must be included.
Getting Started
Practical thinking is helpful as we start our journey to discover abiding fellowship with God through spiritual respiration. One pastor shared that it’s best to think through the idea of finding a time, place, and plan. Nothing of significance or longevity is accomplished without a clear strategy for these three things to come together.
Time: When are you planning on having this daily quiet time, and for how long?
Place: Where will you seek to have this quiet time? How can you organize this spot to be distraction-free?
Plan: What will you read to ‘breathe in’ God’s grace? How will you respond to ‘breathe out’ in prayer, praise, study, or silence?
As you answer these questions, hold them firmly so that they are a priority and help develop what will become your normal rhythms. At the same time, don’t hold them so firmly that it doesn’t allow space for adaptation and flexibility through life’s unexpected moments. Schedules, places, and plans change; quiet time can and should also be adaptable. If you miss a day or fall behind, remind yourself of our source and the goal of this time. Also, remind yourself of God’s gracious love and continue again the next day, for His mercies are always new.
Now, let’s fine-tune those answers with some practical questions. These are our recommendations for how to format and prepare for your quiet time:
Time: Set aside time when you’re most fresh to give God your best. For some, that’s in the morning; for others, it’s in the evening. This will depend on your personal preference and life stage.
Place: This is typically best done somewhere in your home, with your phone and other devices in a separate room.
Plan:
Start slow, with a small passage each day, and read one of the Gospels.
As you read, take time to pray in response to the passage using Daniel Henderson’s Worship-Based Prayer model, or study the passage using the Discovery Bible Study Method.
When finished, if desired, you can increase the amount of reading and either read another Gospel or continue chronologically to the Book of Acts. Following Acts, read the New Testament and then commit to the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
Conclusion
Salvation in Jesus Christ has opened the doorway to rich intimacy and abiding fellowship with God. As we are born again, we’re united to Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and as a result, we begin to grow as disciples, fully devoted followers of Jesus.
One of the primary ways we grow in grace is through spending quiet, unhurried time with God. In this quiet time, we practice the art of spiritual respiration, breathing in God’s grace and breathing out our response in prayer, worship, application, and silence. As this breathing becomes a habit in our lives through committing to do so with an intentional time, place, and plan, the Scriptures promise that we will grow. Paul describes it as gradual, we grow from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18), but purposeful, as we are conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). In all, it is done with confidence because it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phillippians 2:13).
TL;DR
Quiet time with God isn’t about earning His favor but delighting in His presence.
Rooted in salvation through Christ, it’s a pathway to abiding joy and the fullness of life we were created to experience.
Time: Set aside time when you’re most fresh to give God your best. For some, that’s in the morning; for others, it’s in the evening. This will depend on your personal preference and life stage.
Place: This is typically best done somewhere in your home, with your phone and other devices in a separate room.
Plan: Start slow, with a small passage each day, and read one of the Gospels.
