How to Structure Your Time Alone
Many of the habits for Christian growth are practices that we do both corporately (with other Christians) and privately (while we are alone). For example, we study God’s Word and pray together, and we study God’s Word and pray while we are alone. And while Christians naturally learn about corporate habits by attending church services and small group meetings, establishing private habits for Christian growth are just as important to developing our relationship with God. Below I offer seven suggestions to help you structure and establish your time alone.
Set Your Goals
Determine how much time you want to spend each day in these three categories: (1) personal reading of God’s Word and (2) personal prayer, and (3) study of Christian resources (such as The Foundations Series). Admittedly, reading God’s Word and prayer often blend together seamlessly and frequently; while they are distinct categories, we must never separate them for long.
My goal each day is to spend at least 20 minutes reading God’s Word, 20 minutes praying (divided in small blocks throughout the day), and up to 20 minutes studying Christian resources, which totals 60 minutes or so per day.
For you, it might be 10 minutes, 10 minutes, and 20 minutes (in those three categories). Or 15, 15, 60+ (if you are in a season of intense study). Or 15, 45, 15 (if you have a particular burden for intercessory prayer). Or any combination that helps you move forward in your growth as a Christian.
Don’t be a slave to the schedule, but do your best to follow through on your commitment. In my life, if I hit my goals five days a week, I celebrate that I am making progress.
Set Your Ideal Schedule
Determine, in an ideal world, the time(s) of the day when you will spend time alone with God. I prefer early mornings for my primary block of time and before lunch for a second, smaller block of time. Meeting with God in the morning helps us prepare for the day ahead, and mornings often give us the best chance to have extended times of uninterrupted communion with God. But perhaps another time of the day will work better for you and your schedule; for example, if you are parenting little children or working second or third shift.
If you choose to have your time alone with God in the mornings, go to bed as early as you can without significantly affecting your most important relationships, so that you can get up early the next morning to read God’s Word, pray, and study Christian resources. Don’t underestimate the importance of going to bed at roughly the same time every night or the importance of saying no to the endless social opportunities that appear in the evenings. When the time comes, politely excuse yourself from others, put down your phone, and go to bed, for the glory of God.
I try to be in bed by 8:30 p.m. at the latest, and I try to get out of bed by 5:15 a.m. at the latest—seven days a week. This gives me 15 minutes to wake up, and 60 minutes to read my Bible, pray, and study before I move on to other tasks at 6:30 a.m.
If you have never set aside time for these Christian habits, consider going to bed 30–45 minutes earlier than normal and waking up 30–45 minutes earlier than normal to be alone with God. Regardless of when you go to bed and wake up, I encourage you to reflect on the relationship between your Christian habits and your sleep patterns.
Seek Feedback from Your Church Leaders
Ask your church leaders for feedback in these areas of your life. If you don’t actively participate in a local church that explains and applies the Bible as the focal point of its ministry, and/or if you don’t have one or more Christian mentors in your life, remedy that as quickly as possible.
When you meet with your church leaders, discuss your personal Bible reading habits and personal prayer life. Share what has been helpful for you and where you have been struggling. Ask for advice in these areas.
Inviting our church leaders into our lives is one of the wisest choices we can make.
Don’t Waste Time
All of us need time to rest and relax. But pray and reflect about the areas of your life where you consistently waste time. Pay particular attention to your use of technology (like your cell phone) and how you seek entertainment (like surfing the web or watching movies). Where necessary, repent and ask God to forgive your idolatry (valuing people and things more than God) and how you waste time. Fight against these tendencies with the strength God provides, and fight for a greater willingness and ability to make the best use of your limited time on earth.
Pray for Guidance
From setting your goals to choosing specific study resources, pray for God to guide you in each part of the process. For example, if you don’t have Christian mentors in your life to encourage and equip you, pray that God would bring them into your life and that you would have the assertiveness and wisdom to seek them out. As a joyful and kind Father, God is pleased to hear and grant such requests.
Pray for Desire and Strength
From beginning to the end, seeking God (through his Word, in prayer, and in active fellowship with other Christians) requires a supernatural work. We therefore pray that God would work accordingly.
For example, when my alarm goes off in the morning, I resist getting out of bed. Part of that resistance is a physical reality, as most of us would benefit from more sleep. But that resistance is also a spiritual reality: we do not naturally have the desire and strength to get out of bed to read God’s Word, pray, and study. With that in mind, I say this out loud while I am still in bed, “Yahweh (pronounced yah-way), Lord Jesus, help me get up.” And then, by the power of God’s Spirit, I get out of bed. For me, it is not a meaningless, repetitive formula. It is my way of crying out to God for supernatural strength in a moment of supernatural need. Whether in the morning or otherwise, cry out to God. You will get the help, and he will get the glory.
For Reflection and Discussion
How much time do you want to spend each day in these three categories: (1) personal reading of God’s Word, (2) personal prayer, and (3) study of Christian resources? What is your ideal schedule to make that happen (including when you want to go to bed and wake up)?
If you want to create a study plan of Christian resources, review point #4 above in more detail. What do you plan to study?
What are the primary ways that you waste time? What can you do to minimize the amount of time you waste? How do you want to put that time to good use (such as praying or serving others)?