God knows our hearts, He knows what we’re thinking, there is nothing we can keep or hide from Him. So let go- surrender… I would lock myself in our closet, kneel down, I would imagine that I’m in the throne room of God- in the presence if the Living God, the Creator of the Universe… and I just cry out to Him and thank Him, praise Him, lifting all my concerns on Him and then I ask Him for wisdom and revelation as I read His Word.
So how do we do Quiet Time?
Sharing with you what my discipler’s (Miriam Quiambao) discipler (Cindy M Soriano) shared with her:
“Quiet Time” – it sounds so …. quiet!
As a christian, we hear this so often in our circles. But how do we really have a good quiet time? What is a quiet time? To put it simply – it is time spent alone with God, putting away all other thoughts, putting all focus on God, His Word and having a two way converation with Him.
How is your Quiet Time?
Is it one way prayer asking God for anything and everything or just pouring out your troubles to Him? Or one way in the sense that you read His word through with no contemplation or meditation on what it was all for or about? Or is it just sitting with random thoughts flying through our minds because we are troubled or basically just not quiet in our minds and souls?
May I suggest that our Quiet Time be our time with God to be truly honest, open, surrendered and hungry for Him? It must be a combination of all that we are and all we can be, no pretenses. There needs to be no formal form just honest, normal me. We must be totally free of pretenses and excuses when we come to God each day to seek His Word, His counsel and His rebuke. Forget the eloquent words and the rationalizations – instead may I propose this –
“Sit quietly by His feet”
Sit quietly by His feet, in your favorite corner, away from the maddening crowd, switching off or putting away the all technology and social media and anything that will draw your mind away from HIM. Close your eyes and tell Him you want to meet Him and have a personal conversation because you are weary and thirsty for His Word. Ask Him to help you hear from Him then open His Word, and not randomly – read from a a plan or a book. Read slowly, thoughtfully, ruminating through each word and phrase – hearing HIM speak to YOU and not to your issues or enemies – but to you….. then…. very inwardly and thoughtfully ask that He uses His Word to make you see how you and I can better ourselves today, each day until He comes.
I will barrow from a story of Martin Luther King, when asked by his barber one day how he has a quiet time: “Luther would take each sentence of Scripture (for instance, “Do not steal”) and think about it in four ways:
1) As a teaching. What does this mean for my life? What are different ways I steal?
2) As a reason for thanksgiving. For instance, how is this commandment not to steal God’s way of protecting me?
3) As a confession. How have I stolen from someone?
4) As a prayer petition. I can pray that injustice like stealing will end with Christ’s return.’
So dear ladies, my sisters in the faith – If there was one thing we could do in a day and only one – I would choose to spend time at my Savior’s feet and quiet my soul in His Word and in His counsel.
Have you met with God today?
-Cindy M Soriano
If you find a reluctancy to go into the presence of God, there may be unconfessed, unrepented sin in your life. Part of your quiet time is to get your heart clean and pure. Each of us needs to take ourselves by the nap of our necks and confess and repent before we come into God’s holy presence to fellowship. -Adrian Rogers
He [the Lord] will always hear your prayers and will invariably answer them. However, His answers will seldom come while you are on your knees praying, even when you may plead for an immediate response. Rather, He will prompt you in quiet moments when the Spirit can most effectively touch your mind and heart. Hence, you should find periods of quiet time to recognize when you are being instructed and strengthened. -Richard G. Scott
Ultimately – Richard Stearns says what is in my heart – and this I want for myself:
‘And when we go to church, read our Bibles, have our quiet times, and go to Christian conferences, we too can build some impressive spiritual muscles, but UNLESS we USE THOSE SPIRITUAL MUSCLES TO CHANGE OUR LIVES and build the church, love our neighbors, and care for the sick and the poor, we…are just posers. Let us not take God’s truth for granted.’
John 13:17 – Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.