HOW TO SPEND QUIET TIME WITH JESUS

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. The products I share I have purchased myself and highly recommend.

Are you finding it hard to spend time with Jesus?

Do you need some ideas to further deepen your relationship with Jesus?

You have come to the right place. We are going to show you 5 ways to spend time with Jesus that you can incorporate into your daily routine to develop your relationship with Him. 

Let’s dive in!

1. Pray Daily

As a Christian, you may have heard the need for prayer countless times. But, sometimes overhearing about something can lead to undervaluing that very thing, or overcomplicating it. 

Prayer is simply talking to God. To pray without ceasing means prayer should be a part of our daily life, which will help us develop an intimate relationship with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 

Think about your current relationships, especially those who you consider close people in your life. You are close to them because you know them, and one of the main ways you get to know a person is through conversation. This also applies to our relationship with God.

You do not need to use fancy and eloquent words in your prayers for God to listen to you or to answer your prayers (Matthew 6:7-8). Nor do you need to impress people to believe you have a relationship with Jesus through you praying out loud in front of everyone (Matthew 6:5). Prayer is an intimate conversation between you and Jesus. 

Learn to have a secret place with the Lord, where you go to be with Him, alone, and spend time talking about anything and everything (Matthew 6:6). Be open, honest and vulnerable with Him, for He is a Personal God, but at the same time have respect for who He is, a Sovereign God. 

Utilise your prayers to also present your requests to Him. How can you expect to receive something if you do not ask? (Matthew 21:22). Prayer is a powerful way to programme your life. But ask with the right motives (James 4:2-3). Your motives should align with God’s will. How can you know God’s will? His will does not conform to the culture of this world (Romans 12:2). 

This is why it is important to not only speak in prayer but listen as well. A conversation requires talking and listening. In your prayers, take the time to hear God’s voice. One of the best ways to discern God’s voice is to be in constant communication with Him and to know His word. 

There are various ways you can incorporate prayer into your daily life: 

• Praying before you start your day and before you sleep.
• Praying before you eat your food.
• Praying whilst doing chores.
• Praying before you leave your house to go to school, work or run errands.
• Praying for people when they randomly come to your mind. 
• Going on a prayer walk. 
• Writing in a prayer journal. 
• Creating a prayer wall. 

As you can see, prayer is simply being in communication with God, which helps you to develop an intimate relationship with Him and help you programme your life. 

Isn’t prayer so powerful?

2. Study the Word of God Daily 

It is important to read and study God’s word daily. Why? Because the Bible is God’s very own words. It is the best place to go to hear from Him, to know His character, to develop a relationship with Him, and to be trained in living a righteous life (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

The Bible is the closest way we can be near to the invisible God we serve, yet see Him visibly move in our lives when we apply His word to our lives. This is because the Bible is active and alive (Hebrews 4:12). It is not just words on paper. It is way more than just reading biblical facts. God meets us in His word.

There are different ways you can read and study the Bible:

• Topical Bible Study – Pick a topic e.g., forgiveness, love, salvation, and read/study scripture on it.
• Verse of the Day – Pick a verse to read and study. You can follow the YouVersion Verse of the Day on their app, or read and study our Wisdom Wednesday Verse of the Day.
• Chapter by Chapter – Choose a Book in the Bible to read and study a chapter a day.
• Story by Story – Go through stories in the Bible to study each day. 

I recommend using a Bible Journal to help you journal down the revelations you get from the Holy Spirit right on to the pages as you are studying the Bible.

As you read and study the word of God daily, try to implement meditating on the word of God into your routine. The Bible teaches us that we should meditate on God’s word day and night (Psalm 1:2). Warning! This is not the same meditation that is taught in today’s culture. 

In eastern meditation, the goal is to empty the mind, which is what is taught today. This is dangerous, because an empty mind may present an open invitation to deception or a demonic spirit. You do not want an empty mind, you want a filled mind. 

But in Christian meditation, the goal is to fill your mind with the word of God. This can be done by carefully thinking about each word and phrase, reflecting on what each passage of scripture means and applying it to one’s self, and praying it back to the Lord so you can put it into practice (Philippians 4:8-9).

As you have gathered, it is useful to spend time with Jesus in the Bible, as He is directly speaking to us through His own words, we can see the power and manifestation of His word move in our lives, and we can reflect on His word to appropriately apply it. 

Maybe next time you open the Bible you keep these things in mind to keep you encouraged to spend time with Jesus this way on a daily basis. 

3. Attend Church Every Week

Were you ever the person who was forced to attend church by your parents, a family member or a friend?

Have you ever been that person who had to annoyingly wait for their family member to finish fellowshipping with every member after church service?

If you are this person, now is the time to stop being this person, and become the person who is willing to attend church and encourage others to join, and who looks forward to fellowship with their church family after service. 

There is a purpose to why God created the church and the means to fellowship. Attending church shouldn’t be because you feel the need for it, but you should fellowship with the intention to obey God and give to others. 

In the early Christian church, the first believers were devoted to a number of things, but one of the main principles they were devoted to was fellowship (Acts 2:42). The Greek word for fellowship is ‘koinonia’ which means to share in something. Therefore, the Christian life is meant to be full of the fellowship of sharing with other believers. 

This includes:

• Sharing the same Lord Jesus.
• Sharing the same love for God.
• Sharing the same struggles.
• Sharing the same victories.

The Christian life is not made to be done alone, we are to live this Christian life with other like-minded, faith-filled believers. 

We should gather with believers to encourage and stand strong with others who are in times of discouragement (Hebrews 10:24-25). Therefore, forsaking fellowship leads to discouragement. 

Having fellow brothers and sisters in Christ means when we are down or when we stumble, we have a family who can build us up and use God’s word to speak life into us and encourage us to keep fighting the good fight of the faith (1 Thessalonians 5:11, 1 Timothy 6:12). 

Faith and hope can be exercised in solitary, but this cannot be said the same for love (1 Corinthians 13:13). You cannot exercise love without being in the community, because if you love God it is commanded of us to also love others (1 John 4:21). 

 Jesus is the cornerstone, who connects us all believers to each other through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18-22). We are all one with Christ. Therefore, not only is the church a building where the presence of God resides but we are also identified as the church where the Holy Spirit resides in us (1 Corinthians 3:9, 6:19). Hence, our attendance at church is a symbolic meaning of entering the presence of God. 

We need to understand that spending time with Jesus also includes spending time with His people, we can do this by being committed members of the church. 

4. Create a Worship Playlist 

Who doesn’t like music? God most certainly loves music as the longest Book in the Bible is a song Book; Psalms. 

Throughout the Bible we have Books on songs and poetry; Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon, we have examples of people, apostles, and angels making songs from the Spirit, singing psalms and songs, using instruments and dancing to express their praise to God for His greatness and His works (Psalm 150:1-6, Exodus 15, Ephesians 5:19, Acts 16:25, Revelation 5). 

As we can see, although music is an inherent part of society, it is even more important to God. Biblically, the purpose of music is to sing to God with gratitude in our hearts (Colossians 3:16). Music is not made for us, it is made to honour God.

So, creating a worship playlist, having it play in your environment, and singing to the Lord sets the atmosphere for the presence of God, as it is another form of communication with Him (Acts 16:25-28). 

Here are some examples of different genres of Christian music you can add to your playlist:

• Gospel
• Christian R’N’B
• Christian Country
• Christian Hip Hop/Rap
• Christian Lo-Fi
• Contemporary Christian Music

Worship music is way more powerful than we perceive it to be. It goes beyond the clapping and waving of hands to the praise and worship at church. You can use worship music as your spiritual weapon on the battlefield.

In order for the Israelites to conquer Jericho, God commanded them to march around the wall of Jericho with the sounds of trumpets and a loud shout, and the wall collapsed (Joshua 6:20-21). They didn’t physically fight to be victorious, they used music which honoured God as a battle weapon.

Some battles are not meant to be physically fought over because they are not physical but spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). And in this case, the greatest sins of the Caananites were spiritual (Deuteronomy 18:9-14), hence the Israelites had to fight spiritually to conquer them. Therefore, some spiritual attacks can be defeated through worship music.

The same goes with the tormenting spirit that was upon Saul. Music was seen to have therapeutic effects during biblical times and therefore, David was summoned to play the harp to relieve King Saul of his torment (1 Samuel 16:14-23). Music can lead people to spiritual deliverance. 

You can see that the Bible evidently shows the use of music in worship. Music is a valuable tool to help Christians to honour and worship God in a creative way. There is no style of music or instrument that is forbidden but, it is commanded of us to sing and make music from our hearts to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19-21). 

5. Keep Gratitude Lists

It is the will of God for us to express our gratitude to Him in every circumstance, no matter if it is good or bad (1 Thessalonians 5:18). The reason being is that appreciating God for what He does, does an inner work in our hearts. 

You begin to have joy in your heart and mind, no matter what you go through. Your happiness is not dependent on what is happening. 

We see this when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, and only one who was a Samaritan came back and gave his thanks to Jesus (Luke 7:11-19). When Jesus told the man that “your faith has made you well” (v.19), Jesus likely had meant that not only did He heal him physically but, He also did inner healing of his heart. Whereas, the others had healed bodies but sick hearts. 

Therefore, expressing gratitude to Jesus shows that you acknowledge that He is responsible for the life you live, and so no matter what you are going through you know He is in control because your heart and mind trust Him with your life. 

Take it upon yourself to make a gratitude list, Jesus values our appreciation of Him:

• I am grateful that I am alive today.
• I am grateful that I have food to eat and clean water to drink.
• I am grateful that I have a roof over my head.
• I am grateful that I have an education.
• I am grateful for my friends and family.

God is good and His love endures forever therefore give thanks to Him (Psalm 136:1). 

When scripture says we should “enter His gates with thanksgiving”,  the use of a gate is to control the entry or exit of an individual (Psalm 100:4). So, as soon as you enter the presence of God, thanksgiving and praise should be on your lips. And, as you are about to end your prayers bless God’s name as though you have already received an answered prayer. 

What that does is your thankfulness to God reminds you that God has and will supply every one of your needs (Philippians 4:19), and it puts your heart in right relationship with Him, who gives us good and perfect gifts (James 1:17).

Quiet Time with Jesus Printable

These 5 ways to spend time with Jesus are simple yet so powerful and effective to ensure that your time with Him encourages you to desire to be in His presence daily. 

Out of the five, which one will you implement in your quiet time with Jesus? Leave a comment.

Share this post to encourage the body of Christ to be willing children of God who desire to spend time with their Maker. 

Stay blessed,

Divine L.