Thanks to the accountability group Good Morning Girls, I've spent the last year in a relative habit of having a morning Quiet Time.
I became a Christian when I was 15. I am now 26. Over the years I heard a lot of people talk about having a quiet time, journaling in the morning and "spending time in the word." I had no idea what that meant so I just smiled, nodded and pretended I had one of those things, too. They sounded like important Christian habits, but I was too embarrassed to ask someone what the heck a Quiet Time looked like, and how you could start having one.
I've discovered that Quiet Time seems to look different to different people, so I figured I'd share what mine looked like.
First, I created a prayer binder. My post on that is the most popular post here on the blog. I spent a long time googling what other people's looked like, and then finally just went to Office Max and bought a binder, loose leaf paper and tabs. I already had a few different sets of "pretty" paper to print the GMG devotional pages because at that time I only owned a law-school-rific black and white laser printer. It was really inexpensive, especially considering that at the end of the "season," I take all of the pages out and put them in an expanding file holder. Then I just put new loose-leaf paper behind those tabs.
Each morning (Mon-Fri was my ideal schedule. I did miss a few every once in awhile for no reason, or because I was on vacation with people where I couldn't go hide in a corner) I wake up, open my prayer binder, and then open my ESV Study Bible. Any bible would work, obviously, but I like the study bible for this purpose because: (1) It helps me understand things I didn't know about, and (2) it's too big to take anywhere else!
I started off with the GMG devotional pages. GMG uses the SOAP method. I liked it because it gave me a guideline on what to focus on, and how to "journal." Since I'm still a "newbie" at this I spent some time journaling straight about what I had read, but it got to be a little overwhelming - especially on mornings that I woke up late. I might go back to straight journaling in between GMG sessions, but I'm not sure.
Then I would go backwards to my "Prayer" tab. I'd go through the pages (I organized them by Friends, Family, Etc.) and pray for the people on those pages. I'd add any new prayer requests, and then write any answers on the right hand side. (I got the inspiration for this set up from Carmen.)
I also have a tab to write out my 1000 gifts. I'm not very diligent about this process, but I still see the huge benefits when I wake up in the morning and write out a few blessings from that time, or the day before.
Do you do a morning (or afternoon, evening) Quiet Time? How did you get into the habit? Do you notice a difference?
{If you want to ask more personal questions about my Quiet Time process, I'd love to chat with you. You can email me at ThreeYearsDown [at] gmail [dot] com.}
