Not Sure What to do During Your Quiet Time with God? Here’s why!

Here’s a few time for quiet time with God that will help you get started if you aren’t sure what to do.

When it comes to spending time with God, have you ever felt awkward, nervous, or lost because you weren’t sure what to say or what to do? I want to talk about this a little bit today because this is a common obstacle that I hear from other ladies when I’m working with them and talking to them about their relationship with God. 

They want to be close to God, but get nervous and feel awkward. They feel like they’re saying the wrong thing or not doing anything right. They want to know what to do about these things. We’ve already talked about having no time, now I want to look at what to do when you don’t know what to do or when you feel awkward and nervous. 

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I am excited to talk about this topic because I feel like I haven’t heard a lot of people address some of these mindset issues of feeling awkward and nervous or feeling completely lost when it comes to God. I think a lot of times you think “I’m saved it should just be easy. It should be natural. I shouldn’t feel lost or nervous or awkward because it’s God.” 

There are lots of reasons that you may feel nervous when it comes to your time with God, especially if you can keep in mind that this is a relationship. When you are going on a first date, you’re nervous or you might be excited. There’s some anxiousness going on. 

A lot of those same feelings that you have in the physical here on earth about dealing with new people, new situations, and growing relationships apply to your relationship with God. I think it’s helpful if you can frame it in that way. To help you see what’s going on and see that it’s not always as big of a deal as you might think it is. 

You’ve Never Done it Before

Reason number one, that you might feel nervous or awkward or not know what to do when it comes to growing your relationship with God is that you’ve never done it before. Maybe you are brand new to your faith or you’ve been walking with God for a while but never actually invested in your spiritual growth.  

Things like spending time in prayer, bible study, meditation, and memorization are all new things and can be scary. Think of anything that you’ve ever done for the first time, and I guarantee you that at least one of those things, you felt nervous, you felt anxious, you felt a little scared, and unsure of yourself because you didn’t know what to expect. 

You don’t know what to do and you don’t know what the rules are, right? All of that is part of a beginning relationship. If you’re in this place where you’re brand new to your faith or you are brand new to growing your relationship with God, it’s okay. 

However you feel is okay. Take that to God and talk to him about the fact that you feel nervous, that you feel awkward, that you don’t know what to do, that you’ve never been here before, that this is all new to you and you have no idea where to start. 

You know that you want this, that it’s important, so go from there. Start from where you’re at and be honest with God about it. When I first committed to getting to know God and really building my relationship, I felt awkward. 

I was sure that I was doing everything wrong. It didn’t feel natural, it didn’t feel right. I felt like I was walking around like a three-year-old girl stumbling around the house in mommy’s high heels. It all felt really weird and awkward. The more that I did it the more consistent that I got in it. And I finally found my groove. I found how I connected with God and it became a lot easier. And the same is true for you.

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Reason number two is because you’re just getting back into it after time away. This is not because you’re new to your faith or you’re new to spiritual growth. This is the person who fell off the wagon. The one that decides to read the bible and pray every day. Who wants to do all these things, but life happens and you fall off and aren’t consistent anymore. 

You get stuck in this all-or-nothing mindset, believing you were doing great, and then fell off and can’t get back to that. So you give up and decide not to try anymore. Eventually, you might finally get some sense and realize this is important and you need to get back to it. 

You may still feel unsure and lack confidence. Worried that you’re going to fail again. Here’s the thing, God doesn’t care, not the way that you think. He is not standing there waiting to judge you because it’s been 265 days 12 hours and two minutes since you last had time for him. He’s not doing that. 

He’s not keeping track of things like that. He just wants to spend time with you. He wants you to get to know him. He wants to have that relationship. And if you have fallen off the wagon and you’ve not been consistent, even if it’s been years, it’s okay. Come back. He’s right where you left him. 

Waiting for you to show up. You don’t have to feel nervous and awkward about coming back. He’s not going to wham you with some really strong discipline because you’ve been away longer than you feel you should have been. It’s all right. Pick back up where you left off. Try something new. 

You’ll find your groove again. You’ll find your confidence and that confidence is going to come through consistency and confidence. They go hand in hand when it comes to a lot of things, but especially in growing closer to God. 

Unsure What to Do

The third reason you may feel nervous is because you feel lost and you’re not sure what to do. Anytime I go somewhere and I don’t know exactly where I’m going, there’s a little bit of nervousness and anxiety around it. 

I have no sense of direction, y’all none. I go the same route every single time to the same place. I even get lost with GPS and I cannot read a map. It’s a sad sight. Sometimes you feel lost in your faith and your walk with God because what you’ve been doing isn’t working anymore. 

You can’t spend an hour with God like you used to because your schedule has changed, you’re caring for somebody who’s ill, you’ve got small children in the house, your work schedule has changed, or your school schedule has changed. 

You don’t know what to do. You don’t have what you used to have or what you think you should have. Listen, this is so fixable. I mean all of these are fixable, but this one right here, if you feel like you don’t know what to do, ask. Look around to somebody in your circle in your life. Ask for some help. 

Ask somebody to help you. Ask somebody what has been helpful for them. Get yourself some tools. When you feel lost, when you don’t know what to do, ask.  God says, ask if you need wisdom, ask and he is not going to withhold that from you. 

Sometimes it’s as simple as turning to somebody in your small group at church or the pastor’s wife or anybody and telling them you’re feeling lost. Be humble enough to accept the help that’s offered and get some discipleship training. 

That is what the church is there for. That is what you are called to be, disciples. You need to learn. A lot of times it just takes raising your hand and saying, Hey, I’m struggling. Can somebody help me? 

Even the disciples who walked with Jesus struggled with not knowing what to do, and they had to say, Lord, teach us how to pray. They asked and Jesus told them. He gave them the model of the Lord’s prayer. The same is true for you. When you don’t know something, don’t get stuck. 

You have to put in the work and the effort, and God is going to meet you there.  He’s going to walk with you on this journey to your closer relationship with him that you want deep, deep in your heart. 

Other Helpful Resources

• How to Feel Your Feelings without Going Numb
• The Importance of Being Persistent in Prayer
• 3 Keys to Find Joy in Suffering

Now that you have these tips for quiet time with God it’s time to start working towards consistency.