A beautiful friend of mine asked me "what does quiet time mean to you". A better question might be what does quiet time mean to God. I want to start with a story.
There were two trees. One of the trees was big, beautiful, and had incredible foliage. Everyone would walk by and talk about what an amazing tree it was. The second one was small with only a few leaves. One day a big storm came and the wind began to blow. The big tree was blown over but as it fell, it landed on the small tree. The small tree was able to hold up the big tree. After the storm ended, the big tree asked the small tree. How did you do that? The small tree said well while you were growing bigger & more beautiful on the outside I was deepening my roots. My roots may not be visible, but they are what kept me firmly planted during the storm.
This story makes me ask myself, are we busy growing more branches or are we deepening our roots? This world seems to focus on so much outwardly - our appearance, cars, houses, clothes, jobs, etc. We also allow ourselves to be influenced by all these outward pressures. God is more interested in our character and our inward condition. Let's deepen our roots and spend time with the Lord.
Quiet time means to get alone with God - alone means away from distractions. Mark 1:35 "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there." Trust me if Jesus felt the need to go and pray to His heavenly Father - we definitely need it! I think morning time is best. The reason being is because God knows the direction our day will go before it starts. When you spend time with Him early, He can prepare you for all the "crazy stuff" that can happen in a day. Psalm 143:8 "Let me hear Your loving kindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul."
How do you spend time with God? God should be just like your closest friend. Any close friend/relationship is only as strong as the communication going on. If you aren't communicating with God on a daily basis, you might ask what kind of relationship you have. When spending time with God, the conversation is a two-way street. If all you do is pray to God and never give Him the opportunity to speak to you through His word that is what I call a one-sided relationship. Do you have a friend who does all the talking and you never get a chance? How frustrating is that! God speaks to us through His word, the Bible. The scriptures are full of wonderful lessons about life and help us to understand more about God. Who He is, what He has done, how much He loves us, etc. When I read God's word, I write in my Bible or a journal about what I learn from it. Even if it is just one scripture. If you write down what you understand the scripture to mean, you have to dig a little deeper. I also like to have a wonderful devotional book to add to reading the Bible. Oswald Chambers is excellent. I have a link to one of his daily devotionals below.
We talk to God through prayer. He wants to hear from us. He cares about every aspect of our lives. Thank God for all you have in your life, pray for people you love, but most importantly pray for a desire to learn and grow closer to Him! Psalm 32:8 "The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing"
Every day you are either growing spiritually or falling further away from God. Remember if you don't use it you loose it. Luke 8:18 "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him." Spend time with the Lord and be transformed into His beautiful image. 2 Corinthians 3:18 "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord-who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image."
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