5 Steps to Quiet Giveaway
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Welcome to those joining us after reading my Encouragement for Today devotion. If you haven’t read it, click here to do so.
How do we get to a quiet place so the cracks in our spirit don’t cause us to break?
~ Get Alone.
While it is possible to read the Bible or pray with others nearby (and sometimes moms with small children don’t have much choice!) it is best if you can get alone. No other people present. Find a quiet room out of the main traffic of the house. (I go into our master bedroom’s large closet sometimes and shut the door!) Withdraw for a while.
~ Get Quiet.
Being alone isn’t enough. It is possible to be alone but not be quiet. Especially if you insist on taking along your phone. Having it buzz and beep at you is not being quiet. So turn off the TV. Silence the radio. Put the phone away for a while. Try just sitting in silence for a while and asking God to calm you and speak to your heart.
~ Get Real.
No sense in trying to fool God. He knows your thoughts before they are even formed! Talk honestly to Him, telling Him of your feelings, desires, hopes and regrets. Ask for His guidance. Seek His forgiveness. Beg for His wisdom. Talk to Him as if you were confiding in your best friend. Being real and raw is the place to start rather than saying what you think sounds “religious” when you pray. I’m not saying to throw respect and reverence out the door, just to be honest as you pour your heart out to the Lord.
~ Go Deep.
Yes, read the Bible during your time alone with God, but also learn to utilize some great classic books of the faith to understand the concepts in scripture or disciplines of the faith that aren’t always so clear. My favorites are Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, Forgotten God, Crazy Love, and Erasing Hell by Francis Chan, Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis and The Reason for God by TImothy Keller.
~ Go Forth.
Yes, chasing and capturing quiet is essential to our spiritual lives but it is not an end in itself. Our goal in seeking quiet is to emerge stronger, more rested, more focused and ready to live our lives to the glory of God!
Now, how about you? Do you seek quiet? Why or why not? Any tips? Hopes? Other thoughts?
One person who comments will win the items above. They are:
~ A cup and saucer from Blessings Unlimited
~ A box of one of my favorite teas—Tazo Wild Sweet Orange
~ Two Bible highlighter pencils
~ Some fall lotion from Bath & Body Works in the Leaves scent (I LOVE this scent!!!)
Okay…….comment away! Winner announced Friday.
NOTE: Please join us next week when I’ll unveil a freebie for you. From Chaos to Calm: The LET. IT. GO. Christmas Challenge. It is a five-day free devotional, practical study for having a harmonious holiday! Stay tuned!
Just want to Thank you Karen for being such a great messenger for God. Keep up the good work!
Perfect! Needed to hear this with the holiday season right around the corner…..thank you for considering me.
I was just discussing this with a good friend last week. I can be so disciplined with exercise, eating healthy, etc. but lack the discipline of regular alone time with Him. I keep praying for Him to change my heart to desire it more than my daily food. I have made some progress in past week. Thank you Jesus :)
Quiet time with no distractions is very important, now that we are empty nesters I sometimes crave for the craziness of teenagers at home
I am an exhausted homeschooling mother of 3 year old twins and three school age children. I have been trying to figure out a way to get some time to myself for years. Just this morning I thought to myself, the person who advised us, moms, to “just do the next thing” didn’t have the same life that I do, because at that moment I had four “next things” that needed to be done NEXT! So, when to I find the time to be quiet and still with God? It is here and there and whenever I can find it. My dear husband told me a couple of months ago that he was trying to find a way to give me an hour a week. Yes, this would be nice, but in the meantime, I am thankful for the little bits and just the knowledge that God knows me and my life. I am LOVED!!! :-)
I used to be so regular with my quiet time, but lately it seems hit or miss. I need to get up earlier! I vow to get up 15 min. earlier tomorrow!
I find that my soul needs time with God and I crave solitude.
This is actually something I have to really work on with little boys. I am so tired in my quiet time, but I still have trouble laying it all before God! thank you for these reminders. I love them.
I’m reading as my grandson naps! I love quiet time with God. But sometimes its hard to find he time! We have to make sure we MAKE the time!
Great Post!!! Thank you, I need to be more consistent w/my time with the King! I wake up early & read devotion & the Word but need to be more committed!
First, did you buy (first opportunity) a real teacup set that was a little more than plastics for your little girl? It was my question first off and I don’t remember the last time I got some quality quit time to enjoy a deeper Bible Study than I get lately. I feel “screamed at” the whole time. Thank you for this blot, it hit home! HOT TEA SOUNDS SO GOOD!
I used to do a regular get-away with God when my children were toddlers. I have gotten out of the habit with homeschooling and just over the last couple months, God has really convicted me to schedule time to get away from all my “responsibilities” and just be with him. I actually checked into a hotel for 24 hrs of solitude to try and catch up for lost time over the last few years. It’s amazing the difference it makes.
I had such a good routine going in the mornings, and then fell away from it, as the kids schedules, and therefore mine changed. I am trying to get back into the morning quiet time, as if it doesn’t happen then, it seems to not happen at all.
Jesus first! I sure need His perspective on things first thing in the morning. I love to sit in the corner of the living room, put my feet up, and give myself to reading the Word and praying. Then, I move through the day with confidence that He will be my strength, my joy and give me grace for everything that happens. Thanks for your blog that encourages so many!
Yes, I am so thankful for such sweet reminders like yours to spend quiet time with God daily. Even though I have been a Christian for many years, I still find this challenging yet so vital. It seems that so many distractions get in the way and some days Satan defeats me. Other days I know to do right and then start it with God’s Word and quiet prayer. Things are so much better for me then. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I grew up in No. California among the giant redwoods. I LOVED hiking through the silent giants several times a week after school and on weekends, just to “hear” the silence. Following high school, I moved to the hustle-bustle of So. Cal for college, and have been there ever since. A month ago, the… NOISE… of… everything!… got to me- I almost had a breakdown. What saved me, no- “who” saved me- was God’s gentle reminder to find a quiet place to just sit with him. I took my daughter up into the local mountains, found a hiking trail, and sat on a bench next to a stream and taught my daughter to listen to the wind in the trees “talking” to us. She admitted that at 8 years old she’d never really heard that sound before. (I MISS the redwoods!)
Now, we try to get away into the mountains weekly to hear God’s voice in the wind, and the stream, and the silence. Far away from the sirens, the traffic, the chaos of man’s design.
Daily time alone with Our Heavenly Father is so important, still in my PJs after my husband leaves for work and before my day gets busy, is a good time. My favourite place to be close to God though is on the beach with the waves and the wind playing a heavenly symphony. Ali
Just what I need God’s peace and quiet for the holidays
Particularly blessed by the ‘get real’ segment. Wonderful to remember that you don’t have to be perfect to approach God, who knows us so intimately anyway. Who do we think we’re hiding from? :)
My husband changed jobs and is now up an hour earlier. I try to get up with him so I have time to exercise to wake up and read my Bible and pray. I don’t always get it all done first thing in the morning, but I do get at least a bit to start me off right.
Lately, I have not had alot of quite time with MY FATHER, and it shows! My attitude stinks! But finding the time has been difficult since a bout with the flu, then playing catch up with almost every area of my life. But I know that it is the only way to control my attitude and stress level is to get alone with God.
I am working hard to get into a routine of quiet time every day. Baby steps are working and I am getting there. :)
I get up at 3:00 and it’s great to be in my chair with the fireplace on and it’s dark outside with my bible and coffee, not to mention 2 cats and a pug dog. Still single so it’s easy to find quiet time in my home.
Badly injured my foot recently and have had some forced downtime. At first, it seemed unbearable – how will I get everything done? But the upside is the rest and the quiet, the learning to delegate and the dependence on Him.
Thank you so much for this message today. This is actually the second time I heard it today so I know that the Lord is telling me to take a breath and take a moment or two. I seem to always go at a breakneck speed taking care of family, home, inlaws, outlaws, the work and grad school. Again, thank you.