Too Busy to Have a Quiet Time... Try this: Part 1

We all know that it is vital that we connect to God throughout the day.  The more we do, the more we can’t help but praise and thank Him. If we connect to Christ throughout the day, we will abide in Him, and we are often far less tempted to indulge the flesh.

Most people think quiet times must be long to “count” as spending time with God.  The great news is that Scripture says that there is nothing wrong with throwing in some shorter times to connect to God.

The amount of time we spend in quiet time is secondary to having a genuine connection to God.  The purpose of quiet times are not to measure how much time we can tally up. Instead, quiet times are for worshiping God, thanking Him, growing our dependence on Him, trusting Him more, pouring out our hearts to Him, aligning ourselves with Him, and generally just being with Him. 

Also, remember that genuinely connecting to God doesn’t mean you will automatically have this “incredible” emotional experience or awareness of Him.  Instead, it means connecting with God with the best that you have, regardless of what you feel, trusting that He will meet you where you are.

That said, connecting to God exclusively in short ways isn't healthy.  Jesus spent hours with God and sometimes spent all night with Him.  As His image bearers, we should do the same. Our connection with God during shorter times and longer times will be different. The insights gained will be different as well.  It is helpful to have shorter connection times, but make sure you also make space later for extensive time with the Lord. 

For those hectic days, there are several ways that we can connect to God that are very quick.  Today, we will start with two things you can do as you go about your day: Practicing the Presence of Christ and Breath Prayers.

Practicing the Presence of Christ

Because Christ is everywhere at all times, practicing the presence of Christ is when we imagine Christ in a specific place in the room with us. Just by being aware of His presence in the room, we can do all we can to do with Him watching. This leads us to engage Him more, genuinely share with Him more, and abide in Him more so we sin less. 

To help me remember to practice His presence, I like to picture Him in funny places. So, hanging from the ceiling, upside down, with his head just above my laptop, walking backward a few feet ahead of me while I move to a different location, or instead of in the passenger seat in my car, picturing Him sitting under my rearview mirror helps me to remember Him. Picturing Him in unusual places helps me not forget that He is the author of humor.

Breath Prayer

If you are performing a task where you can check out mentally and still do it well, try breath prayers.  Breath prayers are about repeating a Scripture-based phrase to yourself to milk insights. The phrase must be short enough to say when breathing in and out. For example, repeating over and over again, “Jesus loves me,” “I am forgiven,” “God is in control,” etc., will allow these phrases to become a part of your beliefs in a way that leads to tangible differences in your life.

In our next blog post, we will share four more ideas for making the most of our time with God.

Chew on This:

What would your life be like if you always remembered He was with you?