For the past three years I’ve tried to plant a garden.
I think that it would be really wonderful to have our own tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, so that whenever we need vegetables we can just go out and pick our own fresh, organic food.
I believe the soil around our house is great for planting, but it has a lot of rocks mixed in. It’s hard, clay-like soil. A few times I’ve thrown a few seeds out there and what grew was pretty measly.
I need time to plow and prepare the ground for planting so I get good, hearty plants.
In Mark 4, Jesus used soil as an example of our hearts and planting seeds to represent His Word.
He mentioned 4 kinds of soil: hard soil on which people walked, soil that was full of rocks, soil that was full of thorns and good soil prepared for planting.
The people that are like that first kind of soil aren’t ready at all to receive God’s Word. Their hearts are completely hard and the seed just sits on top until the birds come and eat it.
Those who are like the second kind of soil are shallow.
They receive God’s Word…as long as they don’t have any responsibility or feel an expectation to change their life. God’s Word can’t grow in them because there is no room for roots to grow around all the rocks.
Those who are like the third kind of soil are distracted.
They receive God’s Word and it starts to grow in them, but beside God they have a lot of other stuff, like the weeds in my garden that I’ve never really taken time to clean.
Weeds grow and spread really quickly and soon whatever it is that you planted disappears because there is no room for it to grow further.
Those who are like that fourth kind of soil are ready. Their hearts are soft and cleared of anything that will prevent seeds from growing, so that when the seed of God’s Word is planted in their hearts it grows into healthy, hearty fruit!
What kind of soil are you? Is your heart ready to receive God’s Word, or are you the kind of soil that is hard or choked with a bunch of distractions? I think that for most people the problem is that we are distracted.
4 Smart Bible Study Tips For the Easily Distracted
We have so much going on in our lives. We wake up and get ready for work, come home to more housework: laundry, dishes, dinner, kids, homework.
Beside that we have church obligations, parents who need our assistance, parent-teach conferences. And as if that isn’t enough already we have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, Pinterest, email, YouTube, television and the radio to distract us.
When do we have time for God’s Word? When do we have time to allow His Word to grow in our hearts? For His Word to grow in us, we need time to think on it and meditate on it so that it can bring fruit to our lives.
1. Choose a time.
I have a specific time in the morning when I get up. First I make a cup of tea and then I sit down and have my quiet time with God. I don’t turn on my computer or look at my cell phone until my quiet time is over.
I know that if I look at my cell phone or open my laptop I’ll get sucked in and my quiet time will be wasted because “just 5 minutes” easily turns into an hour.
2. Choose a place.
It’s best to choose where you don’t have a lot of things around you to distract you. I make sure that when the kids go to bed, the living room is picked up and neat because I have trouble concentrating when there are toys and dishes laying around.
So before the kids go to bed, we do a “pick up time”, so that when I wake up in the morning, I can come out to a neat and clean “prayer room”.
3. Prepare your materials.
I have a “quiet time box” where I have my Bible, war room journal, pens, colored pencils, index cards, and books on prayer.
Every morning I grab my box and everything is right there. I don’t have to go around hunting for what I need. I realized that I am better concentrated when I write, so I have begun writing my prayers and my observations on what I’ve read in the Bible.
I love this, because it keeps my mind from wandering to my to-do list or what we need to get at the store later that day.
Here is one of my favorite Bible study tools!
4. Create reminders.
You can use your cell phone or an egg timer; or maybe even ask a friend to send you a text message everyday; but create reminders for yourself to stop and take a moment to reflect on what you read and learned from God’s Word that morning.
I use index cards.
I write on them verses that I am memorizing and meditating on and then I put them in my pocket. Every time I put my hands in my pocket (which is often), I feel them and it reminds me to take them out and glance at them. Throughout the day I am reflecting on verses on prayer, joy, strength, and renewing my mind.
All for of these things have made a huge difference in my quiet time, and my spiritual life.
My quiet time isn’t just a time to read the Word, but a time to plant the Word deep into a heart that is prepared and clear of distractions so that it can bring fruit to my life that will in turn nourish those around me!
Find more content on Quiet Times below:
10 Steps to an Effective Quiet Time
5 Tools You Need for a Quiet Time
3 Fabulous Ways to Plan Your Quiet Time
4 Fabulous Quiet Time Tips for the Easily Distracted
5 Quiet Time Tips for Busy Moms
7 Quiet Time Ideas for Busy Moms
4 Ways to Help Your Teens Have a Quiet Time
7 Ways to Revive Your Quiet Time
6 Tools I Use for Quiet Time and How I Use Them
Debbie @ Bible Fun For Kids says
Thank you for hosting each week! I love this parable! Really great reminders and thoughts. Pinning it!
Jen V says
Thank you for the tips. I completely agree about not turning on the computer or looking at your phone until after you have had quiet time. That is something I really struggle with. God is really working on my heart about needing to give him the first of my time each morning.
Thanks for hosting the link party!
Rosilind says
It’s hard, because we want to engage right away…and sometimes it’s a distraction that allows us to wake up slowly, but it also tends to keep us from truly hearing the voice of God. I tend to be more focused when I’ve not begun my day with a device.
Beth says
Love the practical tips, Rosilind. Thanks for sharing and for the great linkup too!
Tiffiney says
Hey Rosalind!
These are really awesome tips! I’m gonna have to try the writing key verses on note cards and looking at them throughout the day idea. Thanks so much for sharing how your best tips for having an amazing quiet time with the Lord. And thanks for the link up, too!
Blessings,
Tiffiney
Rosilind says
I love my note cards with with verses on them!!
Michelle says
You offered so many great ideas here for establishing a quiet time in the midst of a busy life. No excuses now! Thanks for hosting the party and have a wonderful Wednesday. I do invite you to link up tomorrow at my link up party – Party at My Place.
Rosilind says
LOL! Yes, you’re right! No excuses now!
Michele Morin says
I’ve started keeping all my quiet time necessities in a bag that I can grab and go with. Now that I”m homeschooling teens, it seems as if I spend my life in the minivan. My bag is my portable tabernacle!
Rosilind says
I love the bag idea!!!
Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh says
Thanks for hosting! Have a great week!
Jamie @ Medium Sized Family says
Such great tips! I know that I am easily distracted, and being more careful in my planning would go a long way towards having more success.
Debbie @ Simple Joys Of Home says
Thanks for hosting another lovely party Rosilind! I hope you’re having a fun week.
Crystal says
Thank you for posting the quiet time tips. I really, really needed them and never thought to make a quiet time kit or box. Pinned and tweeted!
Rosilind says
Thanks for pinning and tweeting! I am so glad this was helpful.
Buffy says
I had just read Mark ch. 4 today and wanted to say thank you for your insight, Rosilind. I do struggle with *distraction* with too much email, but I’ve been wanting to find a time (and a place) to read my Bible and write out my prayer. I really like your idea of doing it first thing in the morning because it is important that we read and digest God’s Word. I LOVE the 30-day prayer challenge (even though I’m behind in it), because it gives me an opportunity to read a scripture and then to write out what’s on my heart. I really don’t know what to write for the observation as I’m a newbie, so I’ve been writing the scripture out. 🙂
Rosilind says
I love it that you’re writing the scripture out. That also helps to focus our hearts on what we’re reading. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the challenge. And don’t worry about being behind. It’s not a race to the finish line, it’s the journey and what we gain from it. Thank you for encouraging me today with your comment.
Buffy says
Oh Rosilind, my Bible reading and prayer times have been the best times of my day this past week. My mother and I are caring for my stepfather who has been unable to walk by himself for the past couple of weeks because of degenerative disks in his spine and also a bone disease called Paget’s disease (and his next orthopedic appointment isn’t until June), so I’m really drawing a lot of strength from these. Today I read, 1 Thes. 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I truly feel the Holy Spirit giving me strength to deal with the burden of my stepfather’s illness and my mother’s depression, as well as my own concerns…and I know that only God can fill me. He is my help and strength, Psalm 28:7.
Rosilind says
Oh – I am so sorry your stepfather has been ill. But, boy, God’s Word is the best source of strength and joy when we walk through those hard times.
Kelly @RaisingSamuels says
Amazing message, Rosilind! Thanks for hosting and hope you have a wonderful week 🙂