Quiet Time

One area of my life that has always been extremely difficult is a consistent quiet time.  For as long as I can remember it is something that I have always been encouraged to do daily, but have constantly struggled to do it daily.  It is something that I find I can easily put off for another time but when I don't have that quiet time with God it can really blow my day.

Dave and I teach the High School Sunday School Class at our church and we have been convicted to really get these wonderful teenagers in God's Word daily.  So, we gave them a 30 day challenge.  We challenged them to spend 30 consecutive days in God's Word having a quiet time and once they complete it we will treat them to a lunch or dinner with us.  We believe that if they can get those 30 consecutive days in that it won't stop there.  We didn't put a time frame on it...if they miss a day they start over and they have through the entire Sunday School Year to complete the challenge.  It sounds so simple, but it has been a challenge.  The reason we decided to do this challenge was because we wish we would have been more consistent in our quiet times when we were their age.

How often do we use the excuse, "I didn't have time!"  I love what John Piper said, "One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time."  Ouch! I think it could say prayerlessness and not spending time in God's Word.  I can easily spend a good 30 minutes on facebook, why is it so difficult to spend those 30 minutes in His Word?!?

Being a  Mom, I can find myself getting up when Michaela and Aidan get up and just start doing them and continue doing them all day...slipping in time to check my e-mail, facebook and work on my blog.  No time or very little time to spend in my quiet time.

It was suggested to me to do my quiet time when I get up for those middle of the night/early morning feedings.  I have found that to be a good time to do it. Is it always easy...no...there are some times I can hardly keep my eyes open.  On those days I do it a little later when my mind and body are more alert.

I want to encourage you to spend time in God's Word and in prayer daily.  I like to keep a prayer journal and pray through those requests. It's nice to look back and see how God has answered those prayers.