This message is brought to you by the letter K, as in Kara with a K.

I saw her comment late last night as we were coming home and I thought, “I should probably address some of that”.  Interestingly, Kara said that she had to wait for Quiet Times: What I Did Not Believe About Them – Part 3, that is because I was teaching on it earlier this week, at my house.

There is no better atmosphere than someone’s home and I love to host anything.  This does meant that, although I like to think that I am superwoman, I can’t seem to do everything.  This is a frequent source of frustration for me.  So, Part 3 showed up yesterday.

As I was presenting on this Tuesday night, I had some of the same discussions that Kara brought up in her comment.  My quiet time, what is it really like?

This is a question that I will ask of anyone.  I love to hear how people spend time with the Lord.  I love to hear how people enrich any relationship, from husband to family.  Some people journal and their quiet times revolve around these amazing records of time spent with Christ.  I will be honest.  I would love to be one of those people, but I am not.  I am a periodic prayer journaler.

I would love to say that I am a patient prayer warrior.  I am not that, either.  Prayer is a skill that I have desired to learn.  It differs from journaling because prayer is a cornerstone in this relationship.  In fact, the two things I know must be done in quiet are scripture and prayer.  If I complete these, I am happy.  Anything else is icing on the cake, including all bible studies and devotional material.

I am often a distracted pray-er.  I have found that when my brain refuses to cooperate, standing and praying, out loud, does wonders.  It is also biblical.  It helps my focus and makes it wonderfully worshipful.  So, there is a bonus for the effort.

When I say the word quiet, I am fully aware that silence is a privilege for many.  When there are children running around and the word “Mom” is repeated twelve times a minute, silence may never occur.  On Tuesday, we talked about quiet as creating space for the Holy Spirit.  There are many life stages that require us to be flexible enough to seize the time when it rears its head.  This may include locking oneself in the bathroom for ten minutes, while someone else watches the kids.

The most important element of a quiet time is consistency.  I do not say this to shame anyone who misses a quiet time.  If I miss a day, it will be Sunday.  It is just a day unlike others for me with church and the many obligations that we have there.  It is, also, date day with my husband.  I do not feel guilty about missing this day, when it does happen.

Have you noticed that this type of guilt will make you shy about approaching Him again?  I urge anyone to think of the source of that guilt.  God is gentle when He disciplines, He does not push away or shame.

So to answer your question, Kara, I am currently following a year reading plan.  Specifically, I am reading one that schedules OT, Psalms, Proverbs and NT every day.  The variety really helps keep up the momentum.

I am going to finish it early, and I don’t know whether I will start it again, immediately, or go where the Spirit leads for a while.  I have done both.  I love a year plan because we really need to know these books, and it is doable with a little discipline.  We are preparing for our hope of salvation based on what we find, cover to cover.  That is a great reason to become familiar with the text.

A woman on Tuesday said something interesting to me.  She explained that when she did not have a plan, she tended to go to the familiar so she never got around to reading the whole book.  I think this is true of everyone.  We move toward what we know.

Thank you so much, Kara, for asking this.  I anyone has quiet time tips, please share.  It is a great way to help sisters along.