How to Grow in Your Walk with Christ

Jesus said to his disciples,

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 10:27,KJV

When babies are born they instinctively turn their heads to their mothers the voice.

Why?

Because they have spent 9 months in close contact with her.

Listening to the sound of her heartbeat and the murmur of her voice.

This type of intimate relationship is also needed between a believer and God if they want to grow in their walk with Christ.

How do we develop this kind of relationship?

By spending time in His presence daily(aka quiet/devotional time). Today we’re going to discuss how to grow your faith by creating a quiet time routine.

How To Develop A Daily Quiet Time Routine

1.Prioritize Your To-Do List

As a Christian, God should be our top priority.

Not our spouses, job, children, fnances, etc.

As a stay at home mom, I know how hard it can be to find time during the day to get anything extra done.

But we have to be willing to sacrifice a few things on our to-do list to make room for God.

There is a song by Jonathan McReynolds called Make Room.

The lyrics go like this:

I find space for what I treasure
I make time for what I want
I choose my priorities and
Jesus you're my number one.
So I will make room for you
I will prepare for two
So you don't feel that you
Can't live here, please live in me.

That should be our hearts cry for Jesus to come and live in us.

But how can he come in and live in our hearts when we can’t even make time for him during our day?

We move our schedules around for everything else that we want to do.

Why not make time in our schedules to spend quality time with our Savior?

2.Set A Time & Duration

Look at your schedule and choose a specific time during the day that you can commit to spending with God.

I prefer the early morning or late evenings when the kids aren’t awake.

However, I can say that when I make God a priority at the beginning of my day, things go a lot smoother.

If you’re new to creating a quiet time routine starting out with 5-10 minutes is a great goal.

Eventaully, you’ll get to 20 minutes or more.

I know that may seem like a long time, but when you are trying to develop a relationship with someone you spend hours with that person getting to know each other.

Your quiet time is like your own personal date with the creator of the Universe!

Believe me when I say the minutes will fly by.

3. Pick A Location

The next thing you want to do is pick a location.

Preferably somewhere away from distractions, relatively quiet, and comfortable.

As a parent, I know it’s hard to find a quiet spot in the house to get anything done.

Not even the bathroom is sacred in my house!

Sometimes you have to get creative. A few creative places to do your quiet time are:

• your car,
• your closet (often referred to as a prayer closet),
• your bathroom,
• garage,
• During your morning walk or run ( I don’t know about you but physical exercise always makes me feel closer to the Lord, maybe it’s because I feel like I’m dying lol)

There really isn’t a right or wrong place to spend time with the Lord. As long as it’s a place where you can focus on Him, that’s all that matters.

4. Get Organized

If you chose a more traditional location like a room in your house, then you need to get it organized.

For instance, I do my quiet time in my living room in the morning before the kids wake up.

There is nothing more distracting to me than trying to read my bible and pray with toys and book bags strewn all over the place.

I usually end up trying to clean up instead of focusing on my time with the Lord. Now I make sure that the area is clean beforehand.

Another great organization technique is to create a Quiet Time bin. Keep this bin in a specific place in your room.

Fill it with everything you need:

• Bible
• No Bleed Highlighters
• Pens
• Journal
• Devotionals (check out my favorite devotionals for moms and families)
• Transparent Sticky notes
• Do Not Disturb Sign

And anything else you’ll need to help make your quiet time a success.

What To Do During Your Quiet Time

If your desire is to grow spiritually, then your quiet time should not just consist of reading a few passages or a 5-minute devotional, then going about your day.

Try to include a few of the things listed below:

1. Praise and Worship

I like to start off my quiet time with praise and worship.

It helps me take my mind off of my surroundings and focus on God.

2. Pray

Spend time in prayer.

Talk to the Lord about what’s going on in your life and pray for those on your prayer list.

If you’re not sure what to pray about read my post on 10 things to pray for.

3. Study Your Bible

Studying your bible on your can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

I’ve written a detailed post about how to study the Bible on your own.

If you’re looking for a specific place to start reading the book of John, Psalms, and Proverbs are always great places to begin.

4. Journal

Bible journaling and prayer journaling has become a pretty popular practice for many Christians.

For me, these practices help me focus on what I’m doing at the moment.

Journaling also allows me to go back and look at how God has answered my prayers or given me words of encouragement or rebuke.

5. Memorize Scripture

The Bible says we are to write the word on the tablets of our hearts. (Proverbs 7:3, paraphrase)

Memorizing scripture is one of the best ways that we can inscribe the Word onto our hearts and into our minds.

A few easy ways to memorize scripture (check out these 13 easy memory verses):

• Write it down
• Read it out loud
• Sing it
• Draw it out

Alright, so let’s do a quick recap.

1. Daily quiet time is essential to grow in your walk with Christ.

2.The only way we’re going to be able to have quiet time is to make it a priority.

3.Set a specific time and location.

4.Keep your location organized and free from distractions.

Now that you know the basics of creating a routine let’s get started. Decide today to create a routine and stick to it for the next 30 days.

I promise you won’t regret it.

Now it’s your turn.

Do you have a daily quiet time routine? Why or why not? Share your answers with me in the comments section.

As always, keep Jesus in the center of everything you do.

Your sister in Christ,

Eboni

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