Quiet Time Myths

I’ve been wanting to share about this for a while now, but didn’t know what I would necessarily say. I think more people are confused about this  concept than we may think. So…let me just tell you…I was scared to have my Quiet Times when I was younger because I thought it had to be done a certain way and if I didn’t do it that way, I would be in trouble with God. Because that’s totally logical, right? But truly I believe many people think along the same lines that I did at my young age, no matter how old they might be. But i’m here to tell you that my oh my, I was wrong! First thing’s first, a Quiet Time is just a particular set-aside time for you and God. That’s it. Second thing, you can’t be “in trouble” with God. He knows we sin and loves us anyways. He sent His son to save us from our sins. Y’all, hallelujah to that! So today, I thought i’d go over what I used to think before I matured in my relationship with God.

My Myths on Quiet Times:

1. Jesus Time has to be an appointment.

I refer to my Quiet Times as Jesus Time also in case you’re confused. It does NOT have to be an appointment. Y’all, God just wants you to spend time with Him, it doesn’t matter at what time. It’s whatever time you prefer. Some people like mornings to start their day, some people like to at night before bed. Most of the time I start mine off in the morning, but sometimes I do before bed, sometimes I do at random moments in my day, because it’s NOT an appointment I have to be at during a particular time. On this particular day I decided to have my Jesus Time while I was running my moms errands with my coffee and Jesus CD on full blast.

2. Talking to Jesus has to be formal.

Whenever I was around other people I always heard prayers start with “Heavenly Father” or use all these fancy words or use biblical sounding sayings so I thought I always had to do that. And, the media taught me you’re suppose to kneel by your bed to pray. Maybe some do, but you don’t HAVE to do anything. I used to do that and the whole time I was kneeling all I could think about was “what if a monster came and got me under my bed”, which defeats prayer time because what am I focused on? The dang monster. In fact, this should be the most informal time in your whole day.

 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” -Psalm 119:105

3. My Quiet Time has to last a certain amount of time.

Many people I have talked to have thought once in their life that their Quiet Time must be an hour, or thirty minutes, or however long. It can be two seconds if it needs to so you can tell God “Hey, thanks for waking me up this morning.”  Some days mine last as long as the online sermons that I watch, on some days mine last 20 minutes before getting out of bed while using my Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence. Some times I have a couple quiet times a day. My point is…it’s about you and God.

4. My Journal has to look and sound “God-like”.

I always thought in order to be considered a “strong Christian” I had to be able to understand everything in the Bible and my prayers out loud had to sound good and my journal has to be set up a certain way. Falso. This is a picture of my journal. Usually I just write about things that stand out to me in the online sermons. At the end of my journal entries and writing to God I always write “P/T” my prayers/thankfuls. I write however many things I want to of what i’m praying for and what i’m thankful for. I love to go back and look at these too.

So you’ve heard me just talk about watching online sermons. It’s my favorite thing to do during my Jesus Time right now. I love following along in series and I like being able to pause the video to write down verses I usually miss or finish my thoughts. It’s on my own time watching the sermon. This is especially awesome when there are some Sundays I just can’t make it to Church, it’s online afterwards.

Some online services to watch:

LifeChurch.tv
JourneyChurch.tv
HopeFellowship.net
fellowshipdallas.org
watermark.org
Lifeway.com

And these are only a few. Find one in your area to connect through, you’ll look forward to seeing that same person talk. Please, if anyone has questions or anything, e-mail me! I’m always checking my e-mails. I’d love to chat. I’d love to pray for you. I’d love to help you in your spiritual needs. Whatever it may be.
colorsoflifeblog@gmail.com

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

One last thing, I think if you’re still questioning this whole thing you should read about my relationship with Jesus right here.