Making The Quiet Time Work 

Part 3

 Quiet Time Series

Alright,  so we've seen that God actually longs for your friendship and how important the QT is.    However,  It’s one thing to recognize the importance of the QT to our spiritual growth.    It's another thing to actually start doing it.   It’s one thing to desire intimacy with God and for us to enjoy fellowship with Him, it’s a another thing to actually experience it.    Most of us need some help getting started.

Over the years I’ve had so many people say they would have a regular QT but they don’t know how to get started.     No one has ever shown them how.     I can’t be with you in person but my hope is that over the next few days as you come back to "Pastor Rick’s Study" I’ll be able to help you deal with some of the practical aspects of having a regular and consistent Quiet Time where you actually connect with God.     However, please realize that it takes time and the more you do it the better you will become and the more natural it will feel.     Best of all, you’ll discover new ways of connecting with God and your daily QT will become an exciting time you’ll look forward to.    So, let’s get started.

REASONS FOR THE QUIET TIME
There are many reasons to maintain your QT but let me give you two primary ones.

God Personally Invites You To Commune With Him

How exciting is that.    God wants and longs for your friendship.    If your favourite celebrity invited you to dinner or to hang out together, wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity.   Sure you would.    How much better that the God of the Universe wants to hang out with you.
Remember, God is graciously inviting you to commune with Him. He wants your relationship with Him to be cultivated.

Times Alone With God Are Vital To Spiritual Growth

There is just no away around it.    You need time with God to build your relationship.
 

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

 You cannot, I repeat, you cannot, grow spiritually without intimate connection with God Himself. Period.    If you neglect this principle, you may talk the talk, you may have the surface appearance of a growing Christian but the tall tell signs will eventually appear in hour life.     It may not show in overt sin, or open rebellion but it will show and you will know it in lost intimacy.


WHEN TO HAVE THE QUIET TIME?
This question always comes up and I’m though I don’t think there is any hard and fast rules there are some good guidelines.

It Should Be Daily And It Should Be Regular

Daily of course is ideal but realistically is probably isn’t going to happen for most of us.    A recent survey of over 600,000 believers revealed that a minimum of 4 times a week is what it takes to foster real life transformation.     Just like you have to eat food on a regular daily basis to be physically healthy, so you need to feed your soul daily.

The question then is, "what part of the day should I have my QT?"     Here are a few suggestions.

•  Do It At The Time Most Convenient For You
There is no Biblical mandate as to the best time. Pick the time that works for you

•  Do It In The Morning If You Can
There are lots of examples of great people who had their QT in the morning. Jesus is one. King David was another,  Martin Luther, John Wesley, Pastor Rick.    Well okay, maybe the last one isn't so great but I find the morning is the best time as do many others.
 

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5:3)

 In the morning your mind is fresh.    At least for most people.     However if you are not a morning person, if your mind doesn’t wake up until your body has been in motion for a while then you might find having your QT in the morning to be less than productive and you’ll want to find a time of day when you are more alert.     All of us have a natural body rhythm and we should devote quality time to building our relationship with God.

I find that having my QT in the morning works best (though I am a night owl by nature).  It starts my day off right.     Let’s face it, every day comes with new challenges and we need God’s strength and God’s mind to face those challenges.     I have also found that my days are so full of commitments and time demands that if I don’t have my QT in the morning before my day starts, it’s probably not going to happen.

Now, there is a cost to having an early morning QT.     We live in a world that has no time for it.     Your boss is not likely suggest you take a few moments out of the work day to spend some time with God.    Your kids are not going to volunteer to leave you alone while you spend time with God.   (Though Susanna Wesley would throw her apron up over her head and her 16 or so children knew she was communing with God and was to be left alone until the apron came down).    The activities of life will just crowd out the QT.     Whether its in the morning or at some other time, you’ll have to carve out time for your QT and the morning seems like the best time to do that.

Now here’s the catch.      Who wants to give up that sleep?     And unless you have assurance that God is calling you to meet Him in the morning, the first temptation will be to turn off the alarm and get a few more minutes sleep.

Nothing In Life Is More Difficult To Maintain

As The Early Morning Quiet Time.

You may find yourself saying, " I find it difficult to get up early", so it will take some discipline and you may need to change your bedtime routine.       Go to bed on time.     Late nights are the relentless enemy of the QT.     Believe me, I know.    I am a night owl so I have to fight this on a regular basis.     The Devil will fight you every step of the way and you need to fight back.      Pray the night before and ask the Lord to help you awake in the morning.     Let your last thought at night and your first thought in the morning be of your Saviour.

The bottom line is that the morning may be the best time but, whatever time of the day you choose, stick with it and be regular.      Make it a regular habit at the same time each day.

In the next Post I’ll give you some practical suggestions as to how much time is sufficient and just what to do during your QT.     Meanwhile, get started.     Take a few moments in the morning (or whenever you choose) and start out by asking God to guide you and meet with you.     Then spend a few moments reading your Bible asking God to teach you something about Him (more of that in future Posts).      Think about what you’ve read and meditate upon it though the day.     Finish your time off by giving God praise and talking to God about the things and people that concern you.

God Bless you as you build your relationship with the God of the universe and be sure to check back tomorrow as we talk about the actual mechanics of your QT.

God Bless You
Pastor Rick