We recharge and update our mobile phones regularly to keep them active and last longer; otherwise, our phones will slowly grow vulnerable and become useless. In the same way, our hearts and souls need regular recharge and updating to keep it alive and useful for God.
Our daily Quiet time or Devotion Time in the morning is a time of spiritual recharging and Spiritual updating for our hearts and souls to lead a life with God.
The Quiet Time referred above is a time of meditation: a time to fill our minds with God’s Word, a time to worship and pray, and a time to confess our sins and seek forgiveness. It is also a time to learn from the Bible and grow to know who God is and what He wants us to do in our lives.
South African author and Pastor Andrew Murray has defined the act of meditation as “holding the Word of God in the mind until it has affected every area of one’s life and character”. This spiritual discipline has a profound impact on our lives.
Why morning?
It doesn’t matter how much time we take for Quiet Time, but there should be enough time to meditate on what is read. Early morning is the best time for a perfect Quiet Time because in the morning we are fresh and calm and these quiet moments in the morning can set you up for a great day.
We read that many godly men and women in the Bible rose early to meet God. For example, Abraham (Gen 19:27), Job (Job 1:5), Jacob (Gen 28:18), Moses (Exodus34:4), David (Psalm 5:3, 57: 7-8) and Hannah and Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:19) and the list goes on. In Psalm 5:3, King David narrates his daily morning appointments with God, “In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].”
People who work on night shifts and students who sit at late night for studies find it difficult to have an early morning Quiet Time. In those situations, fix your daily quiet time in the evening or at some other time during the day, and be consistent at the fixed time.
How to do Quiet Time?
Here I present you a simple and proven step by step method that will help you know God better and enjoy His presence every day.
1. Start with prayer
· Spend a few minutes in prayer and prepare your hearts to receive God’s blessings.
2. Read a Bible passage
· Select any book of the Bible, (for example, start with the Gospel of Mark) and read about 8-10 verses or a paragraph. (Better you avoid reading the whole chapter, because you may not be able to find time to cover it all).
· Follow the ‘ASPECT*’ method given below, that helps you to be focused on what you have read and guide you to get a complete understanding of the passage.
· Read the passage slowly, “Read the Bible not as a newspaper, but as a letter from home. If a promise lies on the page as a blank check, cash it. If prayer is recorded, appropriate it and launch it as a feathered arrow from the bow of your desire. If an example of holiness gleams before you, ask God to do as much for you”. —F.B. Meyer
While you are reading the Bible passage try to find out ASPECT and write down the thoughts that occur to you. These need not be-long. Short statements are better and more easily remembered. You may not find out all the answers for the ASPECT method in every single passage you read.
ASPECT is an abbreviation for
· A – About God or Attributes of God– What can you learn about God through this passage? (This leads us to worship God)
· S – Sin – Does it talk about any sin? (This leads to repentance)
· P – Promise – Is there any promise in the word? (Promises reveal the character of God)
· E – Example – Is there any example, I can follow or avoid? (Good or Bad)
· C-Command – Any commandments I need to obey?
· T – Teaching –What do I learn from this passage?
There are different explanations for T. One is ‘Things that are new’ another is ‘Theme of the passage’. A good explanation I heard recently is that T means ‘Tell others the new things you have learnt” What are the new things I have learned in my quiet time? TELL IT TO OTHERS.
5. Conclude Quiet time with Prayer
Finish your quiet time by
· Thanking God for the guidance in your Quiet Time
· Worship God for his character and attributes (A&P)
· Pray for deliverance from any sin in your life (S)
· Ask for the strength to obey His commandments (E&C)
6. How can difficulties be handled?
Many people ask me “What if,I don’t have time?”, “What if, I can’t get up early? I’m not a morning person.”, “What if, the Bible confuses me?”, “What if I have no privacy?”, “What if, I think about God during the day, even praying on and off? Won’t that be enough?”.
The above-said stumbling blocks to a successful personal quiet time every day are mainly mental or attitudinal so deal them separately.
Where there's a will, there's a way, if you have the desire and determination to do something, you can find a method for overcoming the above-said difficulties.
My simple advice is that you should set apart every day at least 15 minutes for your regular Quiet Time. If it is morning it is good, morning quiet time will help you to have a ‘filled start’, Remember David, Daniel and the other busy people who met God daily at regular hours.
“We fail in our duty to Quiet Time or Study God's Word not so much because it is DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND, not so much because it is DULL AND BORING, but because it is WORK. Our problem is not a lack of INTELLIGENCE OR A LACK OF PASSION. Our problem is that we are LAZY.” — R.C. Sproul
7. Conclusion
Your quiet time experiences will vary; it will have its ups and downs so, Do not expect a mountaintop experience every time. Do not expect every day to be equal in satisfaction, insight, vitality or meaning. Expect gradual, persistent growth. Renew your mind with the knowledge on Scriptures daily and you will be better equipped to handle any situation in life.
Let me close this with a bit of advice from George Müller, “The vigour of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts… The first great and primary business to which we ought to attend every day was, how our inner man may be nourished…I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditate on it.”.
So, start your day with God, you will never be the same.
God bless you.
*N.B
You can also follow an alternative method, abbreviated as QUALITY if you find the ASPECT method difficult to follow.
Read the passage and note these following things:
1. Q= Quality (Attribute) of God in the passage for which I can praise and
adore him
2. U= Undertaking (Promise) of God in the passage which I can praise him and
ask for it
3. A= Action (Command) in the passage which is inspiring, which I need to carry out.
4. L = Lesson to learn from people’s lives in the passage (from both good and bad examples)
5. I = Iniquity/sin in my life which I need to confess
6. T= Things I learned today from this passage which I can share with others (believers/unbeliever)
7. Y= Yield (Produce) to God by obeying His words and following what God taught you through the passage.
