“Quiet Time” - Have We Lost the Point?

The conversation of “Quiet Time” seems to have gripped my American generation. You hear it tossed around as an all-encompassing definition for how people undistractedly connect with God once throughout the day. You hear pastors tell you how important it is. You hear seasoned believers tell you that they spend consistent time with God. Yet, you rarely hear what it is and how to actually “do” it. And most importantly, we don’t hear enough about God’s desire for us and His perspective on why we should spend time with Him. If you haven’t yet, go read my latest post that discusses common myths believed about spending time with God. There, I mentioned the false realities that often keep us away from meeting with the Lord. :)

My thought posed to myself and fellow believers is that there seems to be a problem much deeper than we realize that is keeping us from spending deep, raw, intentional time with the Lord. We’ve gotten to the place where we think our day is dependent on whether or not we “do” our quiet time in the morning. If I accidentally miss my alarm, will my day be ruined because of my failure to read my morning Bible plan? We hear things like “don’t let it become just something you check off your to-do list” yet we also hear “make sure you’re reading at least once chapter a day”... so which one is it? The feelings are not always there. We know that. Yet our minds continue to secretly ponder… “Is this good enough for God?” 

The truth is, I’m tired. And I’m sure you’re tired too. It seems like “quiet time” is just another way to compartmentalize our lives and we’re pretending it’s not happening. Often, the moment we shut our Bible’s we close our ‘godly’ selves and leave talking to God until 7am the next morning. Oh dear friends, He wants so much more than we are giving Him. He doesn’t just want our time, He wants all of us. How do we spend time with God with this in mind?

1. We focus on God’s presence. 

Our culture is extremely fast- paced. We rush. We move. We text and call and our days are full of immediate inquiries. When we rise early or stay late to seek God, we are still. We remember eternity. We hone in on the truth that the Messiah has come and will come again! We have access to God’s presence because of the tearing of the veil (the flesh of Jesus). 

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22, NKJV  (Bold added for emphasis) 

When we focus on His presence, we remember that the only way we can be with God is through Jesus. Drawing near should be the result of this revelation. It’s not a duty, it’s a right!

2. We commit righteousness in secret.

“We hide our sin and then we post our good works. The Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another and hide our righteous deeds… [what culture currently tells us to do] is the exact opposite of what Scripture tells us to do.” – Francis Chan

Matthew 6:6 (NASB) says,  “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

Jesus instructs us to pray in secret. The previous verse mentions how the religious hypocrites pray for others to see. We have normalized having nothing secret with God. We post our quiet time notes. We share all of our prayers. We worship more in public than in private. Being with God in secret brings a reward greater than one we can maneuver on our own. It acknowledges that He alone is why we live holy, not for other’s praise.

3. We die to fleshly desires.

Our flesh is what tells us that spending time with God is not important. The reality is that we often make subtle choices that impact our days and time. The extra 15 minutes scrolling into the night, the longer makeup routine, the next episode of the show… these decisions can sometimes lead to our “I just don’t have time” excuse. There are moments I look back upon, even recently, and see where compromise took place. I see where my lack of understanding and selfishness took priority over the Truth that God desires my attention and wants to speak to me.

“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41 (NIV)

Here, Jesus has asked His disciples to join Him in prayer before He is taken by Jewish leaders to later be crucified. They kept falling asleep. Jesus’ solution: watch and pray. The temptation to give into the flesh is strong, but our spirit sealed in Christ is stronger! Pray!

4. We remember the prize- knowing God.

The joy of “quiet time” is getting away to be strengthened in God before the voices of the world and our own voices overcome. We need discipline and delight. We need the physical routine of searching the Scriptures daily, but we also need the joy of the Gospel to lure us back to First Love. One without the other leads to chaos. Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NKJV) says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.”

Spending time with God in His Word, in prayer, in reflection, and in worship keeps us focused on the prize- Him.

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 (NASB) (Bold added for emphasis)

Overall, I don’t think that we just need more time in the day. I don’t think that we need more devotionals. I don’t even think we need more Bible study dates with our friends (if replacing personal time with God). I think we need more delight and more discipline as the body of Christ in the person of Christ. I’ve found in my own life that this beautiful dichotomy springs from the continuous place of remembering the Gospel. 

So to you, my friend, if you feel burdened and weary from just not “getting it right”, be encouraged. You cannot earn God’s love. No amount of hours in prayer will change His heart for you. But, it will change who you are. As you grow in spending time with God my prayer is that you feel a deeper and deeper draw to this secret place and that you begin to know Him more than ever before.

In His love,

Kate