“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is
hasty comes only to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV)
Having a quiet time is like many
other activities you might do in life — in at least one respect. To be
successful, it helps to have a plan. The Bible says, “The
plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes
only to poverty” (Proverbs
21:5 ESV).
If you’ve never had a quiet time
before, you may not have a good, simple plan for doing one. Simplicity is
important with any plan you develop. If you make it complicated, you’re more
likely to get off track. All you really need for an effective quiet time is a
Bible, notebook, and maybe a hymn or songbook.
So what does a daily quiet time look
like?
First, be quiet before the Lord. The Bible calls it waiting on God. You start by simply sitting down and
shutting up. As you do this, you’ll find yourself revving your engine down and
calming yourself.
Second, pray briefly. Start off with a short opening
prayer. Ask God to open your mind and guide you. Ask him to cleanse your mind.
Read a portion of Scripture slowly. This is where your conversation with God begins. He starts speaking to you
through his Word, and then you speak back to him through prayer. Read the Bible
slowly. Don’t try to read too quickly or too much. The more slowly you read
Scripture, the more you’re forced to think about what you’re reading.
Meditate on the Word. Spend some time chewing on what God
is saying. Chew on the Word like cows chew on cud. Ponder and wrestle with it
in your mind. There are lots of great methods for meditating on the Word. You
can find specific ideas on how to meditate on the Bible in my book “Rick
Warren’s Bible Study Methods.”
Write down what you discover. When God speaks to you through his Word, care enough about what he is
saying to write it down. Writing enables us to remember what God has said to us
and record our discoveries.
Pray again. Be quiet. Ask God to show you his Word. Talk to God about what he has said
to you. Tell him what you’re thinking about what he is saying. Talk to him
about anything else that’s on your mind.
There’s not just one way to have a
quiet time, but following a plan similar to this can get you started on a
rewarding devotional journey.
This devotional ©2013 by Rick Warren. All rights
reserved. Used by permission.
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