Guides · A daily habit, for beginners
How to Have a Quiet Time with God a simple 15-minute pattern
Short answer: A quiet time is a few minutes set aside each day to be alone with God: to read a short part of the Bible, think about it, and pray. A simple pattern takes about 15 minutes: be still for a minute, read a passage, reflect on what it shows you about God and what it asks of you, pray about it, and write one line to remember. Morning works well for many people, as it did for Jesus, but the best time is one you can keep. Five honest minutes is better than none.
Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.
— Mark 1:35 (BSB)
What is a quiet time with God?
‘Quiet time’ is not a phrase from the Bible, but the practice runs all through it. Jesus got up before dawn to pray and often slipped away to be alone with His Father. David brought his requests to God in the morning (Psalm 5:3). Daniel prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10). Jesus told His followers to pray to their Father in private (Matthew 6:6). A quiet time is simply a regular appointment for that: you listen to God in His Word and speak to Him in prayer.
Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
— Luke 5:16 (BSB)
It is not a duty that earns God’s favor. If you trust in Christ, you are already loved and accepted; a quiet time is where you enjoy that and get to know Him better. That changes how you handle a missed day, too.
How do I have a quiet time? A 15-minute pattern
- 1
Be still (1 minute)
Sit somewhere quiet with your Bible and a notebook, phone out of reach or on airplane mode. Take a breath, tell God you are here, and ask Him to speak to you through His Word.
Be still and know that I am God
— Psalm 46:10 (BSB) - 2
Read (5 minutes)
Read a short passage: a psalm, a story from a Gospel, or a paragraph or two of a letter. A reading plan saves you deciding each morning. Read slowly, twice if it’s short.
- 3
Reflect (3 minutes)
Ask two questions: What does this show me about God? What does it ask of me today? Choose the one verse that stood out and stay with it a little.
- 4
Pray (5 minutes)
Talk to God about what you read, then about your day and the people on your heart. If you want a shape, use A.C.T.S.: praise, confession, thanks, requests.
- 5
Write one line (1 minute)
The date, the reference and one sentence: the verse, a prayer, or what you will do. Months later those lines become a record of God’s faithfulness. A prayer journal can hold them.
How long should a quiet time be?
Fifteen minutes is a good start: long enough to read and pray without rushing, short enough to keep on a busy day. Some seasons allow more; the first months with a newborn may allow five. Regularity matters more than length: a few minutes every day shapes you more than an hour once in a while.
What is the best time for a quiet time?
Morning is the classic answer: you meet God before the day’s noise begins, you follow Jesus’ own example, and it is harder to crowd out than the evening. If your mornings are impossible, choose the lunch break or the hour after the children are in bed. The best time is the one you can protect most days.
Quiet time examples
Here are three real-life quiet times of different lengths. Use them as patterns, not scripts.
1 · A weekday morning, 15 minutes: Psalm 23
Be still
Coffee, Bible open, phone in the other room. ‘Lord, I’m here. Speak to me.’
Read
Psalm 23, twice, the second time pausing after each line.
Reflect
About God: He leads, restores and stays. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” About me: I have been facing this week’s deadlines as if I had to lead myself.
Pray
Thanked Him for being my shepherd. Confessed my worry. Asked for His help in the ten o’clock meeting, and prayed for my sister, who is in her own valley.
One line
Psalm 23:4. He doesn’t take me around the valley; He walks through it with me.
2 · A busy morning, 5 minutes: Lamentations 3:22-23
Be still
Before the children wake. One deep breath, and ‘Lord, I need You today.’
Read
“Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!”
Reflect
Yesterday I was short with everyone. His mercies didn’t run out overnight. Today is new.
Pray
‘Lord, thank You that Your mercy is new this morning. Forgive me for yesterday, and give me patience with the children today.’
One line
New mercies, new day.
3 · A slower Saturday, 25 minutes: Luke 10:38-42
Be still
A walk to the park bench, then a minute of silence.
Read
Mary and Martha, twice, then the verses just before it for context.
Reflect
Serving Jesus wasn’t Martha’s mistake; she was “distracted by all the preparations to be made.” Mary sat at His feet and listened, and Jesus said “only one thing is necessary.” Most weeks I am Martha.
Pray
Praised Jesus for welcoming us to sit with Him. Confessed rushing past Him all week. Thanked Him for three things, then prayed through my prayer list.
One line
Luke 10:42. Listen to Him before I rush.
Quiet time ideas to keep it fresh
- Pray a psalm line by line, turning each line into your own words to God.
- Read one Gospel slowly, a story a day, and ask each day: what does this show me about Jesus?
- Keep a S.O.A.P. journal: one verse written out, with a sentence each for what it says, what to do, and a prayer.
- Learn a verse a week from the memory verses and say it on the way to work.
- Keep a prayer list, so the people you promised to pray for get prayed for.
- Read the same passage every day for a week. You will notice something new each day.
- Walk and pray: read before you leave the house, then pray as you go.
- Read aloud. You notice more and wander less.
- Once a week, pray for the world: one country, one missionary, or the persecuted church.
- End with thanks: write down three specific things from yesterday.
What if my quiet time feels dry, or I keep missing days?
Every Christian has dry seasons, when reading feels flat and prayer feels like talking to the ceiling. The psalms are full of them: “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). Keep showing up. Your feelings are not the measure of God’s nearness; His promises are.
- Pray the psalms honestly. Psalms 13, 42 and 77 give you words for a dry heart.
- Change the shape, not the habit: a new book, a new place, walking instead of sitting.
- Make it smaller. On the hardest days, read one verse and pray one sentence.
- If you missed days, start again today. Don’t make up the readings or punish yourself: “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
- Check the basics: sleep, rest, and whether something unconfessed is sitting between you and God.
- Tell a friend or your pastor, and let them pray for you.
If a heavy sadness lasts for weeks and colors everything, see your doctor as well as your pastor; a dry season and an illness can feel alike, and both deserve care. If you are thinking about ending your life, please call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number; you can pray and reach out for help at the same time.
How do I have a quiet time with my kids?
Children learn a quiet time by sharing one with you and by seeing yours. Keep it short and concrete:
- Ages 3 to 6, about 5 minutes: read one Bible story aloud (the Bible reading plan for kids has 40), ask one question such as ‘What did Jesus do?’, and let everyone pray one sentence.
- Ages 7 to 12, about 10 minutes: let them read the verses aloud, draw the story or say one thing they learned, and learn a verse together from the memory verses for kids.
- Teens: give them their own Bible and journal, a plan that fits (30 days for teens), and privacy. Ask about it now and then, without checking up.
- Keep the same time every day, at breakfast or at bedtime.
- Let them see your own open Bible in the morning. It teaches more than a lecture.
These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
— Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (BSB)
Your 15-minute quiet time
Be still · Read · Reflect · Pray · Write
- 1 · Be still1 min. Phone away. Tell God you are here, and ask Him to speak.
- 2 · Read5 min. A psalm, a Gospel story or a paragraph of a letter. Slowly, twice.
- 3 · Reflect3 min. What does this show me about God? What does it ask of me today?
- 4 · Pray5 min. Praise, confess, give thanks, ask: for today and for others.
- 5 · Write one line1 min. Date, reference, one sentence to remember.
- Dry day?Read one verse and pray one sentence. Missed days? Start again today.
ourbiblemoments.com/guides/quiet-time · Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Keep going
- The A.C.T.S. prayer model
- The S.O.A.P. Bible study method, with an online journal
- Bible reading plans, with every chapter to read here
- Bible memory verses, by age and topic
- How to read the Bible: where to start
- How to pray
- A morning prayer from Psalm 5:3
Questions
What do you do during a quiet time with God?
Read a short passage of the Bible, think about what it shows you about God and what it asks of you, and pray about it and about your day. Many people also write a line in a journal. Fifteen minutes is enough for all of it.
What should I read in my quiet time?
Something short enough to read slowly: a psalm, a story from a Gospel, or a paragraph of a letter. A reading plan helps, such as the Gospel of John in 21 days or Psalms in 30 days, so that you aren’t choosing each morning.
Is a quiet time the same as a devotional?
A devotional is usually a short reading someone else wrote, with a verse and a thought for the day. It can be part of a quiet time, but keep the Bible itself at the center: read the passage, not only what someone wrote about it.
Can I have my quiet time at night?
Yes. Morning suits many people, but there is no rule about the hour. If evenings are when you can be still and focused, meet God then. The aim is a regular time with Him, not a particular time on the clock.