A friend recently asked what my Quiet Time looked like. Since I know her and the reasons she usually asks me these kinds of questions, I answered the question she was really asking, and not the one she voiced.
What is a Quiet Time and why should we have one?
It’s like going to a party. There’s typically one host. They invite those they know and sometimes those they’d like to know better. Everyone mingles. You get to know others on a surface level. There’s a collective quality to a ‘good’ party. But even at the best kinds of parties, most of the time you’ll find those people you don’t see often, or those you want to know more about and say, “It was great to see you… we really should get together and catch up.” Because you know that seeing someone only at a party makes it almost impossible to deepen your relationship.
You plan the personal get together. It’s usually just you and this friend. Maybe it’s dinner, coffee, lunch, going out for dessert… however it is structured the best ones involve talking and catching up one-on-one with that other person. If you often go out with this friend, your get-togethers change over time. Maybe it’s just meeting at the movie theater to catch that flick you both wanted to see. No dinner, no deep conversation, just entertainment. No matter what – it’s that time together that’s important.
Eventually, as your friendship deepens you feel comfortable calling with concerns or worries. Maybe just to vent. You meet up to tell funny stories from your life that you know will make your friend laugh and you listen as they tell you about what is happening in their life. You ask for advice and give advice. It’s now a personal relationship you have with that friend.
Our time alone with God is the same way.
Church, or ‘corporate worship’, is like the party. Everyone is together because of the host. That’s the only connection most of the people in that one place have with each other. And it’s a great way to celebrate God’s goodness and learn more about Him ‘formally’. You can even hear how He’s working in other people’s lives. Prayer requests and praises. Songs of joy and hope. By seeing the others who come together to worship God, we get a better picture of who God is in the global arena.
But if we want to have a personal relationship with God… we have to have that ‘get together’ or one-on-one time alone with Him. It’s what some call ‘Quiet Time’.
Do you have to be silent? I say no! Reading the Bible and praying are rather fundamental when beginning a Quiet Time, but it doesn’t have to be the same day after day. Everyone has their favorite places to eat, but most people would get very tired of eating at one place over & over & over again. Change it up. Use devotionals. SING!
But spend that personal time with God. Pray then read the Bible. Ask God to show you His attributes. Learn how God is good, Holy, a provider, guide, and savior. If you don’t feel the connection, pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you through His word. Time alone with God is the only way to get to know Him deeply and personally.
I’ve been to many parties where I knew a few of the attendees enough to greet them by name, inquire after their family, even ask questions based upon things the host had told me about them. But at the end of the party, I know I won’t see them until the next event. And while I could say I knew them, maybe even use the term ‘friend’, in reality I would not call upon them when I needed help or advice or an opinion. If I did, they would find it strange because we don’t have a ‘close’ relationship. We are not, in fact, friends.
And so, I have a Quiet Time with God. I’m not consistent. Sometimes I’m not a good friend. I neglect God. Put other things in front of my relationship with Him. But I know what I should do to strengthen the relationship. It’s not God’s fault if my friendship is weak. He is waiting to spend time with me and to deepen our relationship. He wants to be not only my God and King, but my friend.
How do I know this? Jesus told His disciples what friendship with God looks like in John 15.
You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
I choose to be a friend of God’s. And I want Him to say the same about me. Do you?
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
For further reading… check out this blog I discovered on the topic of Quiet Times – Sacred Pathways: Loving God According to the Way He Made You by Gary Thomas. (It’s also where I found the image by Luke Flowers.)
Filed under: Christianity, God, Religion, Uncategorized | Tagged: Christ, devotion, devotional, encouragement, God, party, quiet time
