The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Quiet Time
(And why separating it from Bible Study might be the change your soul needs.)
Here is my confession as a Quiet Time Overachiever: I was overwhelmed.
For a long time my Quiet Time and Bible Study were getting blurred. Both are important. Both are deeply spiritual. But they are not the same—and recognizing the difference might bring clarity, peace, and even deeper intimacy with God. And separating Quiet Time from Bible Study might be the change your soul needs.
As a professional over thinker I cannot even begin to tell you how much this helped my critical analysis of the text and most importantly my intimacy with The Lord.
Quiet Time Is Time With God
Your Quiet Time is a sacred invitation. It’s not about parsing Greek verbs, decoding metaphors, or constructing application points (and it certainly isn’t sermon prep). It’s about being present with the Living God.
In these early moments of the day, your heart might still be waking up, your mind is tender, and your spirit is most open. Instead of pushing yourself to "get something out of the text," consider:
Prayer & Intercession – Speak with God and listen. Bring your worries, joys, needs, and gratitude. Intercede for others.
Worship – Put on a worship song or sing one yourself. Worship is a way to recalibrate your heart around what matters most.
Meditation on the Word – Instead of study, simply soak. Read a short Psalm or Proverb slowly, reflectively.
Gratitude Practice – Write down 3 things you're grateful for. It shifts your posture toward trust and joy.
Stillness – Give God space to speak. Not every moment needs to be filled with words or plans.
You’re not trying to finish a reading plan here—you’re communing with your Creator.
Bible Study is how we learn the story of Scripture. Quiet Time, on the other hand, is how we live in relationship with the Author of that story.
Bible Study is where we dig deep. We ask questions, wrestle with the text, look at context, original languages, literary structure, themes, and cultural background. It's rich and transformative—but it’s work.
It often requires more alertness, brain energy, and time. So instead of trying to cram study into your half-awake morning, consider moving your study to a time when you can give it your full attention. For many, that’s in the evening, after the day has settled. For some it is weekend mornings when your day has a slower start. For a long season I had my morning quiet time bleed directly into my Bible Study time, but that just isn’t practical now with a toddler.
A Few Practical Tips For Your Quiet Time
Use the same text for both Quiet Time and Study—just engage differently. Example: in the morning, read Psalm 23 slowly and pray through it. In the evening, study its structure, language, and historical context.
Pick a "soaking" text for the mornings. Psalms, Proverbs, short Gospel stories, or even one verse that you meditate on throughout the day. Write it down and keep it in your pocket or stick it on your mirror or fridge.
Journal reflections vs. notes. Morning: write your feelings, prayers, or what you sensed from God. Evening: take study notes, observations, questions.
Resist the urge to analyze everything in the morning. If a passage sparks a curiosity you want to study later, jot it down and return to it in your Bible Study time.
Take time to not read any scripture at all. Just sit quietly and practice listening for God. Have a cup of coffee with Jesus and just chat about your life.
A Final Thought
It’s not about making rules or feeling guilty. It's about honoring the purpose of each kind of time. When you stop expecting your Quiet Time to do all the heavy lifting of Bible Study, you actually free it up to do what it’s best at: centering your heart on God, aligning your day with His presence, and responding with affection and trust.
Let your Quiet Time be restful and relational. Let your Bible Study be rigorous and rich. Both are forms of worship. You don’t have to choose one over the other—but recognizing their difference can help you walk more faithfully and fruitfully with Jesus.
Scriptures that support the idea of quiet time (save these for later)
Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Matthew 14:23, Luke 6:12, Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:105, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Psalm 5:3, Philippians 4:6–7, Matthew 6:6, Colossians 4:2, Psalm 46:10, Lamentations 3:25–26, Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 143:8, Isaiah 50:4.