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Our daily transformation into the new self will hinge upon a daily devotion time with God. This is often referred to as a “quiet time.” The quiet time helps us get connected with God, learn his word and worship him.

Suggestions for effective quiet times:

  • Find a quiet place with no (or minimal) distractions
  • Have it in the morning: If you start the day with God, you are more likely to live for Him during the rest of the day.
  • Be flexible: Don’t feel that you have to do the same thing and/or number of things in every quiet time. Allow the Lord to lead you and show you what he wants you to do each day.

 

Activities you could do in your quiet time:

Praise and worship God: Praise and worship helps set our minds on God for the day. It also glorifies God and establishes a protective spiritual covering over us. Thanksgiving is a key ingredient in praise and worship. The Psalmist writes, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” in Psalm 100:4 NKJV. We should approach God in thanksgiving as we praise and worship him.

There are many ways to express thanksgiving. We can start by thanking God for every good thing he has done in our life. When I thank God, I go through areas like my salvation in Christ, health, family, possessions, freedom from addiction, power for living, love God has for me, and identity as a son of God. I find that I have many things to be thankful for!

Worshiping God is something we do by how we live, how we use our bodies and how we think. Our worship in the quiet time should be the start of an all-day activity. Here are some suggestions for worshiping God in the quiet time:

  • Read some Bible verses out loud:  For example, I find that reading some psalms is a great way to worship God. Psalms often express praise and worship of the Lord. This helps me set my mind on God.
  • Sing: God gave us a voice do we could sing to him!  Whether you sing by yourself or along with a CD or recording, singing to God will bless his heart.  .
  • Use your body: Our bodies are “for the Lord” (1 Corinthians 6:13). Don’t be afraid to use your body to express your worship. In the Psalms, worship is expressed in many ways, including raising the hands, clapping, proclaiming, singing, playing instruments and dancing. It’s ok to make a complete fool of yourself before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:13-15). This helps you shed off any pride you might have, and opens the door for the Lord to touch your life. See our praise page for more info.

 

Pray: Prayer connects us with God, the source of the life and power we need to walk in purity. Here are some suggested things to pray:

  • The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
  • Confess your recent sins and ask God’s forgiveness
  • Tell God how much you love him and appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for you
  • Ask God to help you cast off the old sinful self and put on the new self in Christ today
  • Ask for God’s will to be done in your life today
  • Pray for other people’s needs as they come to mind
  • Pray for those in authority over you (e.g. government leaders)
  • Present your body to God as an instrument for righteousness and not for sin (Romans 6:13).
  • Declare the truth:  Declaring the truth is a form of “spiritual warfare” prayer and can be very powerful.  Here is an example prayer from Derek Prince:
    “My body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed, and sanctified by the Blood of Jesus. My members, the parts of my body, are instruments of righteousness, yielded to God for His service and for His glory. The devil has no place in me, no power over me, no unsettled claims against me. All has been settled by the Blood of Jesus. I overcome Satan by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony, and I love not my life unto death. My body is for the Lord and the Lord is for my body.” Amen” (Reprinted from Derek Prince Ministries Intl.)
  • Take time to listen – Prayer need not be you talking the whole time –  allow some silent time in case God wants to speak to you or show you something. Sometimes just being quiet before the Lord can bring tremendous peace, comfort and revelation.

Pray expectantly, knowing that your requests are being heard and acted on by God. God may choose to answer your prayer differently from what you asked, or in a different time frame than you expected. Don’t allow that to hinder your faith. When you combine faith with prayer, things will start to happen!

Study the Bible: Jesus said that he was the “bread of life,” and encouraged his followers to feed on his flesh. He said in John 6:56, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” He was talking spiritually, and meant that our spiritual bodies need daily nourishment from the Bible, the written Word of God. If we don’t feed our spiritual body, we can’t expect to have strength to fight the spiritual battles of temptation.

The scriptures tell us everything we need to know living in purity (2 Peter 1:3-4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 119:9-11). The Bible contains the promises of God that we can stand on in faith. The promises also serve as weapons with which we can fight temptations. If we don’t know the promises, we will have a hard time standing in freedom and fighting the devil. When Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness, he quoted scripture exclusively to defeat him (Luke 4).

The Bible serves another important function. It helps re-program our minds with God’s plan for healthy living. Our daily life in the world can easily erode our conscience and convictions concerning sin. The Bible helps renew our conscience. It helps us better discern between good and evil.

Consider what God told Joshua as he prepared to enter the promised land: “Do not let this Book of Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8 NIV). As with Joshua, God’s word will help us be prosperous and successful.

Before you begin reading your Bible, pray that God will open your eyes and teach you. Ask God to open your spiritual ears and eyes to His Word. Then, as you read, look for aspects that ring true for your situation. If you have difficulty understanding the Bible, you may want to obtain an easy-to-read translation. Examples include the New Living Translation, the Amplified Bible and the New King James version.

In my quiet time, I often read at least one chapter from the New Testament and then one from the Old Testament.  Sometimes I do a specific study on a topic, and look up every verse that talks about that topic (some examples: Moses, Joshua, the healing ministry of Jesus, lust, sex sin, the new man in Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit).   Internet tools such as BibleGateway.com are excellent for such studies.

Times of “spiritual dryness” can happen to anyone – if you are feeling uninspired or just need something different, there many excellent devotional books that could be used to supplement your quiet time reading.

After God delivered me from sex addiction, the scriptures became “alive” to me. I found a tremendous amount of the Bible that I could relate to in a new way. I found many passages about rescue, deliverance, healing, renewal and restoration, all of which applied to my situation. I believe God also desires to teach you through His word about the new life He has for you. He wants to deliver you, heal you, renew you and shape you into a new person through Jesus. The Bible is the essential textbook for that process!

Journal: The journal is a great tool to keep track of your walk with God.  I begin each day’s entry with some comments about what God has been teaching me. I then take notes on the Bible chapters I read, jotting down any verses that stand out to me. Sometimes I even write these verses on 3 X 5 note cards to review later for memory. I also put a star next to any special revelations the Lord gives me in my reading. Periodically I will review my past journal entries, paying special attention the star-marked notes. This can be a great encouragement, especially when I’m feeling depressed or unsure of where I’m headed.

Consider what one of our visitors wrote:

“I had started a journal when I started the Freedom Journey. I noticed that when I started slacking in being involved each day with journal entries that some of my thoughts from the past that I wanted to get rid of started coming back. I just wanted others to know that if they are serious about breaking their bondage to whatever addiction or sin that they may have, that being involved with their journal and placing prayers or bible passages in it will strengthen their faith and help them remain committed each day so that their previous addictions will lose their foothold.”

Personal Application Questions

  • Thinking about your quiet times with God, what areas need improvement, considering the main areas mentioned on this page?
  • If you are not having regular daily quiet times, what excuses have been standing in your way?
  • Take a moment to pray about your excuses and confess any laziness or apathy that you’ve been guilty of.  Ask the Lord to rekindle the passion in your heart to meet with him. Ask him to help you make it a priority to meet with him, no matter what.
  • Take a moment to write down the steps you will take from this point on to ensure that you have daily quiet times.

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