How to Spend Time Alone with God

Today I have as my guest Crickett Keeth, my coauthor on Sumatra with the Seven Churches. She writes a blog about mentoring and discipleship, and this post has garnered the most traffic: 

I’m often asked what I do in my quiet times alone with God. Tobe honest, I don’t have a set routine because I don’t want it to become mechanical,but I do have certain things that I incorporate into my quiet times each day.

A Devotional Reading:I like to begin by reading from a devotional book.  Sometimes I use more than one book. Forinstance, right now, I am reading from MyUtmost for His Highest and Daily withthe King. I like to start my time with Him by pondering a statement orthought directed from Scripture to help me direct my focus to Him.

Bible Study: ThenI move into Bible study. I prefer to have a structured Bible study to use eachday. That way, I’m not just spending time looking for a passage to read. I havea plan and know what I’m going to do each day. (If you’re looking for a studyto do, check out the studies on my Bible Study page.)

Prayer: My timein the Word always prompts me to pray. Sometimes His Word convicts me of sin inmy life, and I stop to confess and talk to God about this area. Or His Wordmoves me to pray for someone that He has put on my heart. His Word shows methings that I need to apply in my own life, and I begin to pray about thosethings.  

Journaling: Ialmost always journal. Sometimes I start out journaling, writing out mythoughts, my prayers, my concerns, my praises. Other times, I journal at theend of my quiet time, writing out what God has shown me that morning. Journalinghelps me keep a record of what God is doing and how He is working.

There is no one method that fits all. The key is spendingtime with God each day, and that may look different for each one of us and fromday to day. My time alone with Him is where I find strength and direction.Without that time in His Word and prayer, I find myself getting distractedthroughout the day. Time alone with God is vital to spiritual growth. Don’t letSatan convince you it’s not.

How do you spend your time alone with God? What is yourfavorite devotional book?