The following blog post is an extract taken from our Food for the Journey booklet which covers seven disciplines for Christian living. If you would like to download a digital copy of the booklet and work through the daily devotions please click here: FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY
DISCIPLINE 1
THE DISCIPLINE OF QUIET TIMES:
INTIMACY WITH JESUS – ENJOYING THE LORD AND LETTING HIM ENJOY YOU!
Not only are we given salvation by the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ, but we are also given the wonderful gift of Himself, His presence. The Lord declares over and over again in scripture that He will be with us and because of this we can trust that He truly desires to spend time with us, to bless us with Himself and to be blessed by us.

Companionship and friendship are clearly offered to us by God. Like any developing relationship, this requires time, communication, listening and commitment.
Prayer is simply talking to the Lord and allowing Him to talk to you.
Many have shared that to simply sit still and hear the Lord is difficult, many find they are easily distracted and unsure of themselves in prayer, yet we all sense how important it is to spend time with God.
In the frantic pace we seem to live in, time seems to be the key difficulty, but when we discipline ourselves to give God time, we handle our day so much better and, therefore, the most practical, sensible start to any day is time with Him. A number of people find it easier to set time aside at night, or even midday, whichever works for you is fine, as long as there is some specific time set aside daily.
We have a marvellous asset to our time with the Lord, and that is the Bible. The Bible teaches us of the Lord, how He thinks, how He sees things, how He relates to people.
When we read the Bible in our quiet times, we are reading it devotionally, in other words, we are reading for the purpose of having our attention focused on Him.
To sum up: The Lord clearly desires to spend time with us; we need this time so that we can stay focused and faithful; the Holy Spirit and the scriptures help us in our time with God; through spending time with Him, we receive direction, guidance and wisdom. Listening, obeying and applying what we hear Him say to us keeps us faithful as disciples.
Nothing teaches better than practice. Therefore, it is important to try to not miss
out on the quiet times and be ready to share with your fellowship group on what
insights you may have gained, what struggles, if any, you had, what excited you, what challenged you, and most important – WHAT YOU LEARNED of the Lord.
“If You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways
so I may know You and continue to find favour with You…”
( Exodus 33:13 )