Do you have a quiet place? A place you go to when you need to get away from the world and just talk with God? Where is it? What does it look like? How does it help you as you spend time with the Lord?
Today I’d like to share with you MY quiet place. It’s nothing fancy really, but then, it’s not really the place as much as what I do while I’m there that makes it special anyway.
My quiet place |
Let me just be honest for a moment. When I first heard of creating a quiet place, I thought it quite silly. Create a place just to spend time with God? Really? Do I need to create a prayer bench or something? Does it need to be in a closet? What all do I need?
Before this revelation I used to have my quiet time in my bed and sprawl my books and materials all over the bed while doing my Bible study. I’d then put it all back into my nightstand when finished and call it a day. Usually I did my devotion at night at this time instead of the morning so I was often challenged to stay awake or focused while reading. On more than one occasion I fell asleep before finishing the intended plan. Needless to say, once learning about the importance of creating a quiet place, I knew I needed to move it away from the bedroom.
Now, my quiet place is in a corner of our office. I love getting up in the morning and going in there before everyone else is awake. It provides me that special me and God time that can only happen when I wake up earlier than my children and come to this place…my quiet place.
My quiet time shelf |
To help me focus and be most efficient during my quiet time, my quiet place is filled with several props to assist me with the time I spend with my Lord.
1. My Bible
2. My devotional/Bible Study material
3. My journal.
4. Several Bible Study resources including an expository dictionary, concordance, and several Bible handbooks.
5. My prayer list.
6. My annual goals list.
7. My Bible verse flip chart.
8. A coaster for my hot tea or water.
9. Kleenex…just in case.
10. Pictures of my family which aid prayer time
11. A clock with the date so I can always remember what day I am on in my devotion book and so I keep track of time on those days I need to stay focused.
12. A pen.
13. A blanket for keeping my toes warm
14. A lamp for better early morning reading.
15. A notepad to write down any random thoughts or to-do lists I think of during my stay. I use the notepad to write them down so I can get back to focusing on why I came to my quiet place in the first place–to worship and get to know God.
I must admit that as of late I think my quiet place has begun to feel neglected between travel, sickness, and weird morning schedules resulting from a baby’s sleepless nights. Therefore this week I am so looking forward to returning to my time with God in my quiet place. There’s just something about starting my day in that place with Him that makes the day turn out so much better.
How about you? What does your quiet place look like? I hope it some place special you want to return to day after day after day after day because God thinks you are special and He likes spending time with you too.