--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've discovered it is not sufficient…" description: "\"I've discovered it is not sufficient simply to try to take time for quietness but that I must, with all diligence, make time. Whatever keeps me from pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/tommy-barnett-39156_devoted_i-ve-discovered-it-is-not-sufficient-sim_1143105.png" --- # I've discovered it is not sufficient simply to try to take… ![“I've discovered it is not sufficient simply to try to take time for quietness but that I must, with all diligence, make time. Whatever keeps me from prayer, solitude, and the Bible, however good it appears, is my enemy if I am to be God's devoted friend and follower.” quote by Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/tommy-barnett-39156_devoted_i-ve-discovered-it-is-not-sufficient-sim_1143105.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/tommy-barnett-39156_devoted_i-ve-discovered-it-is-not-sufficient-sim_1143105.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/tommy-barnett-39156_devoted_i-ve-discovered-it-is-not-sufficient-sim_1143105.png) > “I've discovered it is not sufficient simply to try to take time for quietness but that I must, with all diligence, make time. Whatever keeps me from prayer, solitude, and the Bible, however good it appears, is my enemy if I am to be God's devoted friend and follower.” [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True devotion requires intentional time for prayer, solitude, and scripture; distractions are spiritual enemies. **In simple terms:** Make deliberate time for spiritual practices. Key Takeaway Prioritize prayer and solitude daily. Themes faith discipline spirituality Mood encouraging reflective Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - daily routine - church life - personal study - stressful schedules Key Concepts devotion habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What small habit can you start today? - How do you guard against spiritual distractions? A Different Perspective Busy life can make consistent practice hard. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligence/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Followers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/followers/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Making time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-time/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Quietness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quietness/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I had looked forward to old age as a time of quietness, a time to draw my horizons about me, to watch memories ripening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/i-had-looked-forward-to-old-age-as-a-time-of-quietness-a-time-to-draw/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Buffy Anne Summers 1981-2001 Beloved sister Devoted Friend She saved the world A lot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/buffy-anne-summers-1981-2001-beloved-sister-devoted-friend-she-saved/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [I remember a time when I was rejected for speaking my truth. The rejection hurt very much. I kept going over and over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-vissell/i-remember-a-time-when-i-was-rejected-for-speaking-my-truth-the/) [Joyce Vissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-vissell/) > [I know I can't make time slow down, can't hold our life as it is in a freeze frame or slow my children's inexorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-know-i-can-t-make-time-slow-down-can-t-hold-our-life-as-it-is-in-a/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [For the ego to survive, it must make time - past and future - more important than the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/for-the-ego-to-survive-it-must-make-time-past-and-future-more/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [ We \[with husband\] try and spend time alone, which is really hard to do. Of course, when you have kids they're like: "Why are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/we-with-husband-try-and-spend-time-alone-which-is-really-hard-to-do/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [If he can't make time for you it's because he's too busy making time for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-he-can-t-make-time-for-you-it-s-because-he-s-too-busy-making-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you don't make time for me, I'm not making time for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-don-t-make-time-for-me-i-m-not-making-time-for-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I surf - that's the one thing I make time to do. I definitely surf a lot, but when you're working 15 hour days...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-knighton/i-surf-that-s-the-one-thing-i-make-time-to-do-i-definitely-surf-a-lot/) [Zachary Knighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-knighton/) > [I make film to make time pass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/i-make-film-to-make-time-pass/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [“It is impossible to make time but you can always make a commitment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/it-is-impossible-to-make-time-but-you-can-always-make-a-commitment/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [I'd like to make time slow down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-seacrest/i-d-like-to-make-time-slow-down/) [Ryan Seacrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-seacrest/) > [You will never have time for prayer; you must make time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/you-will-never-have-time-for-prayer-you-must-make-time/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [In order to keep your husband, you have to make time for him. Rather than going out to dinner, I like to spend time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giada-de-laurentiis/in-order-to-keep-your-husband-you-have-to-make-time-for-him-rather/) [Giada De Laurentiis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giada-de-laurentiis/) > [You need to make time for family no matter what happens in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/you-need-to-make-time-for-family-no-matter-what-happens-in-your-life/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) ## More by Tommy Barnett > [We take a lot of things for granted in our lives, such as gravity, air, daylight and time. Yet time is one of God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/we-take-a-lot-of-things-for-granted-in-our-lives-such-as-gravity-air/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [If you want to be a bridge of hope to the world, you've got to allow yourself to be walked on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/if-you-want-to-be-a-bridge-of-hope-to-the-world-you-ve-got-to-allow/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [It's not just our job to minister to other peoples' needs. We also have to minister to their potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/it-s-not-just-our-job-to-minister-to-other-peoples-needs-we-also-have/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [“Yet time is one of God’s most precious gifts to us. It is the most significant nonrenewable resource at our disposal. We have less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/yet-time-is-one-of-god-s-most-precious-gifts-to-us-it-is-the-most/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [The call of God is what gets you out of bed everyday, not a burden for something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/the-call-of-god-is-what-gets-you-out-of-bed-everyday-not-a-burden-for/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [Starbucks has kept me in the ministry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/starbucks-has-kept-me-in-the-ministry/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [If you reach the people nobody wants, God will give you the people everybody wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/if-you-reach-the-people-nobody-wants-god-will-give-you-the-people/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/find-a-need-and-fill-it-find-a-hurt-and-heal-it/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [If your church isn't winning souls, I hope you go out of business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/if-your-church-isn-t-winning-souls-i-hope-you-go-out-of-business/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [Great men are just ordinary men that didn't quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/great-men-are-just-ordinary-men-that-didn-t-quit/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) [Explore all 11 Tommy Barnett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) ## More Devoted quotes > [As an undergraduate at Amherst College, I was devoted to Dickensian novels and antiestablishment journalism while marginally fulfilling premedical requirements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/as-an-undergraduate-at-amherst-college-i-was-devoted-to-dickensian/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [You'll know you're amazing when you get devoted to making other people amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-ll-know-you-re-amazing-when-you-get-devoted-to-making-other/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [It is hard to work for years with pure motives, and all the time be looked upon by most of those to whom our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-livingstone/it-is-hard-to-work-for-years-with-pure-motives-and-all-the-time-be/) [David Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-livingstone/) > [The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-usa-is-so-enormous-and-so-numerous-are-its-schools-colleges-and/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [There are something like 300 anti-genocide chapters on college campuses around the country. It's bigger than the anti-apartheid movement. There are something like 500…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/there-are-something-like-300-anti-genocide-chapters-on-college/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. None who would do more to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-man-does-not-live-who-is-more-devoted-to-peace-than-i-am-none-who/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-elizabeth-ii/i-declare-before-you-all-that-my-whole-life-whether-it-be-long-or/) [Queen Elizabeth II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-elizabeth-ii/) > [Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-years-back-when-i-moved-to-california-i-happened-to-see-a-book/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I will always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pulitzer/i-will-always-fight-for-progress-and-reform-never-tolerate-injustice/) [Joseph Pulitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pulitzer/) > [I like people who are devoted to me: men who know I'm the most fabulous thing in the world, and they just look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-bowie/i-like-people-who-are-devoted-to-me-men-who-know-i-m-the-most/) [Angela Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-bowie/) > [And your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians and Princes, devoted to the holy Christian faith and the propagation thereof - and enemies of the sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/and-your-highnesses-as-catholic-christians-and-princes-devoted-to-the/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [I realized that health is the most important thing and that all the other things come with time if you are devoted enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanka-vlasic/i-realized-that-health-is-the-most-important-thing-and-that-all-the/) [Blanka Vlasic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanka-vlasic/) > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/we-know-he-s-been-absolutely-devoted-to-trying-to-acquire-nuclear/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [Congress is full of good, decent, smart people who have devoted their lives to public service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/congress-is-full-of-good-decent-smart-people-who-have-devoted-their/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) Browse all 711 Devoted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've discovered it is not sufficient simply to try to take time for quietness but that I must, with all diligence, make time. 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