One of the excuses I often hear (and have given myself!) for women not spending time in the Bible is: “I’m too busy for Bible study.” Truly, you and I know this is not quite true. We all have discretionary time—we just don’t always use that time as well as we could.
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Life is a journey, and so is the road to consistent time in the Bible. One of the biggest hurdles to staying in the Bible is NOT busyness, but it IS lack of a habit. If we can develop a routine that includes Bible study—even if it is just minutes a day—we will reap the benefits of a deeper walk with Christ. Having a rhythm in our days that naturally leads us into the Word is one of the most fruitful pursuits we can spend time on. I’ve found one such fruit of establishing a Bible study habit is a greater HUNGER for more time in the Word and a deeper DESIRE for meaningful Bible study.
Here are three tips that have helped me in establishing (and keeping) a regular time for Bible reading, study, and memorization.
Three tips for establishing a regular quiet time with God
- Find a trigger. When I have coffee, then I read my Bible. That’s my trigger. Instead of trying to make 6 AM or 11PM my hard and fast quiet time, I’ve had much more success in folding Bible study into the rhythm of my day. So whether I wake up at 7 AM or slept in until noon, my Bible study is part of my morning routine. Here’s a Facebook LIVE video with more explanation.
- Find a space. Once you carve out time to sit and study, it’s helpful to have everything ready and waiting in an inviting place for you to start. This will help keep you from wasting time looking for a pen or your Bible. Whether it be an armchair in your bedroom or the living room sofa, have a basket or drawer filled with all you might need to spend time with God. If you have multiple copies, consider designating one Bible for this space and another for Sunday morning sermon notes. I have a Sunday bag that has everything I need for the service, including my journal Bible which I only use for that time. This frees me up to have other resources handy on the shelf near my “quiet time” space in my home office.
- Find a group. This is especially helpful if you are trying to build momentum and need accountability and encouragement. The first few weeks of a new habit are always the most difficult, and groups—whether they’ve been online or in “real life”—have been just the catalyst I’ve needed to keep going after the excitement wears off on day two of my endeavor.
What has been helpful for you when establishing a routine for your quiet time with God?
So good! Refresh!
I love this! This has been something I’ve been struggling with and this helped so much! Thank you for sharing💕
It’s almost like you wrote this directly to me. Thank you for sharing this. I really needed it!
I’ve tried several times to set up a time for Bible study. I work nights, so my bedtime is 7-8 am and I get up between 4- 4:30 pm. After a few days, my husband will start asking how much time am I going to spend in Bible study. Because we have different schedules – he sleeps when I am at work, while I sleep when he is up – he wants to spend a good portion of my wake time at home with me.