How to Develop a Daily Quiet Time with God: Practical Tips for Busy Christian Moms
So, another school year is beginning. The to-do lists are getting longer, calendars are filling up daily with kids' activities, and goodness knows—the awareness of the holidays is closing in (or is that just me). All good things, but each one takes up time in our day as we care for those in our charge. I know, I know, I don’t even have kids in school anymore, but we went today to get my granddaughter’s first haircut and it doesn’t take long for us nanas to remember and be prompted about all that goes into getting kiddos ready for school! And it all takes so much time and preparation.
But as we settle into the new school year, what about our time with God?
Photo cred @alex1809
Each new semester brings opportunities to sign up for Bible study at church. Don’t get me wrong—Bible study at church or with a small group is a much-needed, growth-filled opportunity I’ve taken advantage of for years.
But what about time alone with the Lord—just you and Him, one-on-one?
It wasn’t until the pandemic that the Lord truly put me on the spot about my time with Him. I’ve been a believer in Christ since I asked Him to forgive me of my sins and be my Savior as an eight-year-old in my bedroom, kneeling beside my bed with my father. But in college I began to study Scripture for myself finding connections between the Old and New Testaments and the Lord revealed something each time I read it. Newly transplanted from the home and church of my childhood, I was figuring life out on my own—but also deciding how to incorporate God into my everyday life, leaning on reminders of who I was and what I had access to because of His goodness.
“Every good gift & perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Fast forward to years later, as a new mom, I felt a deep responsibility for the new human God had entrusted to me—to help her grow to love Him and pray they would one day accept Him as their Savior. That drove me to search for a way to learn more. How could I explain the questions of a child about the universe and a God who loved her if there were things I didn’t understand myself? I wanted to know more. So, I signed up for my first women’s Bible Study at our home church.
That experience changed my life.
Photo Cred @aaronburden
Over the next two semesters, I studied a Precept Upon Precept course by the recently departed Kay Arthur on covenants in the Bible. I loved the weekly homework assignments (call me a nerd), our class discussions, and especially the supplemental videos with Kay, where she poured out her love for God’s Word and unpacked concepts I was only just beginning to be introduced to.
Each lesson brought new questions and a growing hunger to learn more. Week by week, I began to discover the attributes of God and how His plan to redeem us back into relationship with Him—despite the sin that separated us—began all the way back in Genesis (Gen 3:15). I uncovered something new each time. And I fell deeper and deeper in love with God’s Word, his character, his love for me, and the forgiveness Ephesians 1:7-8 says is lavished on me through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
But as the years went on and my number of children increased, so did the distractions—and the temptation to surrender my soul to my calendar and numerous activities that come with raising a family. I often bought into the lies our culture sells, expressed through busyness, sports, and school commitments—all under the banner of being “well-rounded”—but it took its toll.
Then in 2020, when all of my kids were grown and out of the house, a friend and I joined another Bible study at church as part of the Women’s Ministry. It was called 20/20 Vision by Christine Caine. As things began to shut down, and churches scrambled to find a temporary new normal, our in-person class disbanded and never resumed in any online format.
Admittedly—I was annoyed. I knew meeting online could be done. Others were doing it. Why weren’t we?
It was then that the Lord pressed my heart with this question:
Had I relegated my time with the Lord to twice a year and a $20 registration fee?
Why couldn’t I continue on my own?
Where was my desire to spend time with Him daily? —not out of compulsion or obligation, even in the company of other women, but in prayer, reading, studying, and discovering more of His love and His plans for me in a one-on-one daily quiet time.
Just God and me.
So it began. Challenge accepted!
My methods aren’t fully polished, and every day has a different twist in my time in God’s presence. But after years of working at it, it’s now consistent. What began in small, scattered ways has grown into a sweet, new-every-day and enlightening time with God each morning. Holy ground. (That scene with Moses and the burning bush with the voice of God speaking, comes to mind). What started while drying my hair or listening to the Bible app in the car or even on the treadmill, has evolved into hours alone with God—reading, studying, praying, and writing.
This is not meant to compare my story to yours or bring guilt or shame of any kind. This is about finding joy and peace in meeting with God in Scripture—for the equipping of the saints (Ephesians 4:12-13) that impacts our daily lives. It’s about discovering wisdom and guidance from a biblical perspective. It’s opportunity to apply newfound knowledge through a biblical worldview that shapes how we teach and train the littles (or bigs) in our home. It’s joy that stirs us to share. This is meant to challenge you, just like God challenged (and still challenges) me.
So as you settle into this new school year, ask yourself:
Do you have a consistent time with Christ?
If not, what’s keeping you from it?
How could your day look different by spending time in God’s presence?
What time of day tends to be the most predictable?
God is not looking for perfection. He wants to spend time with you—to help you know Him more deeply, so that you can share Him more freely. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
Here are a few tips for creating space for God in your day:
Click the graphic to listen to Ep 74 on the Drive Thru Moms Podcast for more!
CHOOSE A DAILY CONSISTENT TIME (for me, it’s the morning)
Do you eat lunch alone every day?
Do you get up early before your kids?
Do you always have time at the end of the day?
Do you exercise daily?
Find a consistent time that you have alone every day and make a commitment to begin using that time for time alone with God. (ex. carpool line, before the kids get up, waiting for a teen to get home from work/practice, etc.)
CHOOSE A PLAN
Decide what your time capacity it - (different seasons of life allow for different time commitment and that’s OK!)
How much time can you commit? 5, 10, 30 min? (Pick a time and stick to it)
Decide what type of study:
In depth with daily questions, inductive, or more devotional style
Are you reading from a reading plan, or a book of Bible study, or a topical study?
Look at what season you’re in and start there! It doesn’t mean you stay in that spot forever!
CHOOSE A METHOD
Here are a few examples of how methods of study you can use:
Book of Bible study - do a cursory reading of the text, and read it multiple times, before you dig in
Make note of 5 w/s & H (Who, What, When, Where, Why & How)
Rewrite what you read - (I use a $.50 composition notebook and write down questions, key words, summarize what I read each day)
Use a marking system - (or come up with your own, I keep it simple like this: )
Purple - any mention of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, attributes, character or something He said
Yellow - something that is directed at me
Blue - repeated words/phrases
Print the passage out on paper (double spaced) giving you space to mark (some people don’t like to write in their Bible, so this is an option)
CHOOSE A RESOURCE
Your Bible
Bible Study with other women
A reading plan - (I love following a Chronological Plan)
Devotional - independent authors (like me) - (I’ll share more about that in a min)
My GO TO: (you can read HERE for my top picks)
The Daily Grace Co
Priscilla Shirer
Christine Cane
Beth Moore
The Gospel Coalition
A study at your church - (gets you in ‘homework habit’ rhythm with people you know)
Whether you have kids at home, are an empty nester or somewhere in between, every day looks different.
CHOOSE GRACE
Start over every day.
Don’t worry about ‘catching up’ going back, if you’re way off track and get behind, just pick up with the next day.
CHOOSE TO SHARE
This is the most important aspect of what God teaches us through time in his Word.
Who can you share with what you read?
What did you read or learn from God that you can tell someone?
What is a single truth you can tell your children about?
As believers we have an obligation, and hopefully a deep desire, to share Christ with people around us (Matt 28:19-20), and it’s so much easier when we’re learning from him daily. Taking in information, allowing God to touch & change our hearts makes a huge difference in how often and what we share, when we’ve soaked up his word for ourselves. And as parents we have a calling as Christ followers to share the gospel with our children every day through our words, actions and our unconditional love.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
I’m praying for you right now—to find a repeatable rhythm to begin your day in God’s presence. Then begin again. And again. Until a new habit is formed.
(If you have trouble with habits and mindset, check out Craig Groeschel’s book - The Power To Change, and James Clear - Atomic Habits (‘habit stacking’ is a beautiful concept) as you begin to think about next steps. (Shout out to my friend, Rachel for sharing these books with me.)
God promises in Scripture to always be with us, from the Old Testament to the New Testament and that his word will not return void and will accomplish what God desires (Isaiah 55:11). So, whether you read for five minutes, or journal for an hour, do a book study or walk through a devotional, the Holy Spirit will meet you, reveal truth, teach you and guide you as you fall more in love with time in God’s presence (John 16:13).
Drop me an EMAIL and let me know how it’s going or if you have any questions! And if you can’t decide where to start, you can grab my devotional for moms who deal with anxious thoughts, if that’s your jam. It’s a 21-Day Challenge style devotional, walking you through different topics and season as a mom who encounters seasons of anxiousness, giving you opportunities to look at God’s faithfulness in your own life and what God’s word has to say. You can grab it HERE, or grab a free chapter HERE.
Regardless of what you do or where you start, just start. You can do this. it’s too important not to.
Follow along for more below or subscribe here:)
Amazon Review of Faithful Before, Faithful Again - Finding God Faithful in An Anxious World, by Lynn Nitcher
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