Why Should I Spend Time Alone with God Each Day?
Any relationship demands time together. A daily personal devotion or quiet time is simply time set apart to spend with God, growing in relationship with Him. This fellowship is with a holy God and one should prepare for it, be alert and eager to relate to one’s Lord and Savior.
How Do I Do It?
Read your Bible. Study it, memorize it, and meditate on its truths. Ask the Lord to call your attention to examples to follow, commands to obey, purposes to pursue, sins to confess, promises to claim, and truths about God.
Pray about things Scripture brings to mind. Develop a prayer list, keep a prayer journal, or use a note pad to jot down assignments to remember and carry out.
Let God speak to you through His written word as you speak to Him in prayer. Meditate on what God teaches you. Adore and praise God, confess sins, thank Him for blessings and trials, and lay your needs at His throne.
When Should I Do It?
Although the best time to meet with God has to be settled individually, the Scriptures offer help in this matter. Many of God’s people practiced meeting Him in the day’s first hours, before the inevitable responsibilities of the day hemmed them in.
If the morning doesn’t work for you, whenever you set aside time with God be consistent. Make a regular daily appointment with God. Give God your best time, not your leftovers. Start with 10-15 minutes daily, and as you grow God may draw you in for more time each day.
Where Should I Do It?
Find a place where you can focus on God. Jesus encouraged us to enter into a closet and pray ( Matthew 6:6). That simply means a place of isolation where you can shut the door on the world and open the windows to heaven. Jesus Himself sought out places where He could be alone with the Father.
Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Focus your mind on Him. Calm down, relax, and recognize His presence. Take a deep breath and focus your thoughts on the Lord away from any distraction.
Is it Really Necessary?
Out of the 168 hours we each have in a week, the time spent alone with God is the most necessary when you consider that God intends for you to be in fellowship with Him. If you are going to make Jesus known in our world, you must start by knowing Him yourself.
Don’t let your quiet time become a legalistic exercise in “doing your duty.” Remember that you are there to meet Jesus Christ and get to know Him.
A daily quiet time allows you to get your bearings each day. Where are you in relationship with God, with man and in your own heart? Are you on target in your Christian life? That is what David meant in Psalm 139:23,24 when he said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”