Quiet Time

As Christians we model our lives after Jesus who lived a sinless life. That being said, He also suffered in similar ways that we suffer.  Being human has many limitations which we must face daily; one of those limitations is our time.  We do not have enough time in a day to meet all the demands which we encounter daily, while at the same time remaining sane and grounded in our relationship with Jesus.  Jesus Himself realized this limitation and regularly withdrew into a private place just to be alone with the Father.

In creation God created man in His image. (Gen 1:26)  We were created to relate with Him, that is what it means to be in His image, our God is relational.  We were also given a spirit which we could connect with His Spirit and commune with Him on an intimate basis.  Sin brought separation in this relational process, but Jesus restored this communion with the Father by bridging the gap between us and Him. He sacrificed His own body that we may inherit the benefits of intimacy with the Father which was lost, but now restored in Jesus.  Jesus restored relationship with God as it was in the beginning.  
Closeness with the Father was always the intention.
Quiet time is most essential.  It is a place for us to release the demands of the day and open our hearts and minds to receiving what the Father has for us.  This is our daily bread, our spiritual sustenance to make it through the day.

 Luke 5:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

One of the things which I have become aware of recently is the specific need to have quiet time with the Lord.  It is not a quaint saying which sounds good when we gather or have our focused prayer time with others, but personal alone time with Jesus to rebuild our relationship with Him and the Father.  Our daily life can tear us down and also tear us away from this type of intimate fellowship with Jesus, even when we are doing everything “right.”  There are so many demands placed upon our time that we are left with the choice to be intentional or not when it comes to intimate quiet time with Jesus.  Jesus needed time alone with the Father to intimately reconnect as do we.

Sometimes getting up in the morning an extra 15 minutes early just to spend time with Jesus can seem like such a huge sacrifice. I am denying myself of much needed sleep!  But here is where we all must come to the awareness of perspective. Jesus made the intentional decision to suffer and ultimately die for our salvation.  He also sought out the Father regularly in quiet lonely places that He could remain connected and grounded in who He was and what He was called to do.  In prayer He consistently brought up details of the relationship between Himself and the Father, not that He was forgetful in as much as He declared the truth of who He was so that the clutter of everyday life would not crowd out the reality of what He already knew.

John 17:1-26 (NKJV)

¹ Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,  ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  ⁴ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. ⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  ⁷ Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  ⁸ For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

⁹ “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  ¹¹ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.  ¹² While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.  ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  ¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.  ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  ²⁵ O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  ²⁶ And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

How much more do we need to prayerfully declare before the Father what we already know about ourselves regarding our position in Christ and standing in that truth?  So what is an extra 15 minutes?

1 Peter 2:1-5 (NKJV)

¹ Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,  ² as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

⁴ Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,  ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

It is in that quiet place that we connect intimately with the Father, knowing that we are loved unconditionally with an ocean of love that is beyond the demands of time which presses in upon us.

I am not saying that quiet time with the Lord is a mandatory rule or requirement which must be implemented in our daily Christian walk, what I am saying is that we all need a place where we can "dial down" and focus on the Lord's desires and hear His "still small voice" which is speaking to us and calling us to go deeper in relationship with Him.  Your quiet time may look different than mine, yours may only be a few minutes, whereas someone else may need a few hours just to find that "Holy Ground" where God meets man.  

May you find that quiet place where God meets you today, where you may lay at His feet all of your burdens and cares and receive from Him the peace and assurance knowing that nothing is too large for Him to bear.  And may you receive the unconditional measure of His love for you as you sit at His feet and download from Him all that you need, and may you  know that you are becoming a fully grown child of God, lacking nothing, but being prepared for everything.

James 1:2-4 (NKJV)

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Stephen Barnett

God is good all the time – all the time God is good!

QUIET HOUR

(Words and Music by: Chuck Girard)

When the day is done and gone,

 And shades of evening come along

 I sit alone and think of you,

 And thank you that I have this quiet hour

 Alone with you

 My quiet hour, to be with you

Melodies and symphonies,

 and gentle breezes in the trees

 I must confess that all of these,

 Do nothing more than simply to remind me

 How wonderful you are

 How can I tell you, how wonderful you are

Oooooh la la la la, ooooh la la la la,

 Ooooooooh ooh ooh ooh

 Ooooooooh ooh ooh wah

I don’t have to say a word,

 And yet I know each word is heard

 Makes no difference where I am,

 You’re there to join me in my quiet hour

 Alone with you

 I think of all you’ve done for me,

 And how your love has made me free

 How you gave so selflessly,

 And I wonder how can I begin to thank you

 For lovin’ me

 And my desire, my desire is to be with you

©1974 Dunamis Music

The music and lyrics above are copyrighted by the respective artists and are demonstrated here for educational purposes only and not for profit.