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I remember a minister saying that whenever he provides counseling for a member of his church he first, listens to their story, then he asks this question: “How is your quiet time with God going?” By “quiet time” he was referring to regular individual sessions of a believer reading a part of the Bible and praying. In his experience, there seemed to be a correlation between their sense of hopelessness and the amount of time they had devoted to these activities.
Perhaps this minister noticed the pattern demonstrated in passages of scripture like Matthew 26:36, Mark 1:35, and Luke 5:16. Here we see that Jesus Himself needed a quiet time. He regularly moved away from the others to commune with His Father.
So, here goes: How is your quiet time?
Don’t worry if you are not able to answer quickly or at all! The point of this question is not to invoke guilt, shame, or judgment! I ask you this because one day I asked myself this question and I had a hard time answering! I could not remember the last time I’d picked up my own Bible and read it and prayed. This was not a memory lapse. This lack of recall was due to a lack of it even happening!
Keep in mind that God is not sitting up in Heaven keeping tally of how many days per week you read your Bible. Nor is He an advocate of us embracing some sort of “checklist” mentality whereby we read day after day to applaud ourselves and when we miss a day we wallow in feelings of defeat.
What God is after is a relationship with us. And, truth be told, when our relationship with Him is not nurtured, all other aspects of our lives suffer. And let’s kid ourselves no longer as we embrace this counter-cultural Biblically-based truth: without Bible reading and prayer, our relationship with Christ is anything but nurtured!
He knows all about you and desires that you spend your life getting to know all about Him. God can speak directly to our hearts. But it is the Word of God that allows us to know Him enough to recognize His voice. It is in the quiet spaces of our day that we are most likely to hear Him.
Will daily Bible reading and prayer eliminate all of your current troubles and ensure there will be no hardships in your future? Not at all!
Well, what’s the point?
I’m glad you asked.
A RELATIONSHIP with Christ is the point! And when that relationship exists and is being nurtured daily, we may still have troubles, but we will also have peace and, according to Philippians 4:6-9, that peace will protect our heart and mind as we face whatever has come our way!
In Psalm 62:5 the psalmist says that his soul would find rest and hope when quiet before God.
Has it been a while since you felt rested and hopeful? Has it been a while since you had some peace? Are you feeling lost, discouraged, alone? Need some direction, companionship, answers, closure, insight, happiness, joy, respect . . .
Shhh . . . get quiet.
. . . As you read your Bible, pray your prayer, and hear His voice.
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