Soon after I became a Christian, I was introduced to the concept of a quiet time—your scheduled time to be alone with God each day.
The girl who led me to faith was well practiced in her own devotional discipline. And she was intent on teaching me how to have my own quiet time experience on a daily basis.
So she gave me a simple, step-by-step account of how it should work.
“First, you have to find a time,” she told me. “Put it on your calendar like everything else. Then, make sure you show up!”
She gave me a Bible and suggested I start reading the Gospel of Mark. “Follow Jesus through the story,” she said. “Notice the way He lives. Think about the things He says. Watch the crowd that’s watching Him.”
I was absolutely enthralled. I couldn’t wait to get to my quiet place every day—to behold Jesus again and again. As I saw Him being patient with His disciples, I saw myself and how impatient I was in my life. When I read about Him caring for children, I saw with new eyes the attitudes I often had toward the kids I was teaching. And as I saw His power over dark forces of evil, I knew that I could conquer them too—as long as He was at my side.
Starting to have your own personal devotional time need not be a big thing. Start small like I did. You can even start with the Gospel of Mark!
You’ll find rewards you wouldn’t dream possible. You’ll begin to sense God’s otherness, your earthliness, and His love that lifts your heart in the trenches of your day-to-day fight to follow Jesus.