Finding Quiet Time

How’s your week going? You deserve a break, so pour yourself a cup and have a seat. Perhaps you haven’t enjoyed a quiet moment since the week began.

It’s taken a while — years, actually — for me to fully appreciate the necessity of regular quiet time with the Lord. For years, I nodded knowingly as I read devotions that reflect on the closer walk with God that develops during quiet time. Then I would set my Bible on the book shelf, where it stayed for weeks until another inspirational article convicted me.

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm  62:1 (NIV)

Schedules can get away from us, and responsibilities and “shoulds” can convince us that we don’t have time. As a family caregiver and self-employed writer, I have certainly experienced unpredictable schedules and deadlines. I tend to take an “all-or-nothing” approach to regular quiet time: if I can’t commit to an hour at the same time every day, I don’t do it at all.

But I’m missing too much by insisting on perfection in my quiet time. When I can (which is most of the time), I do the hour at an allotted time. But I’m also aware of quiet moments when I can thank the Lord my Shepherd for guiding me through the day. A morning walk with our dog becomes a prayer walk. Waiting for a doctor appointment gives me healing time with the Lord.

So it’s a process that I know I will never perfect. Instead, I am thankful for hours or minutes in the presence of the One who can perfect my faith.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)

Sit a bit longer and finish that cup. Quiet your “shoulds.” Listen for Him. You’ll see that you’ve “chosen what is better.”