quiet time vs. everyday time
I remember when I was younger my youth leader explained what a quiet time was. "It's a time set aside for you and God to connect. No distractions," he said, "You can read your Bible. You can pray. The point is that it's quiet." So I became a quiet time guy. I used to sit on the front porch of our house. We had seven kids in a three bedroom house. My twin brother and I shared a closet for a bedroom. The porch was my early morning escape. I still remember reading through I Corinthians on that porch.
Some time later, I think in the middle of college, another leader explained that life was more about constantly talking to God, not just having a quiet time. This made a lot of sense to me, since I was incredibly busy. So, I chucked my quiet times and started talking to God throughout the busyness of the day.
a rhythm of life
Now that I'm older I realize my life needs both. I need regular quiet times in the morning with God: reading my Bible and praying. I need all of my life to be an ongoing conversation with God: talking with God in the middle of traffic, meeting, or caring for my kids.
My relationship with God is in a regular rhythm of life. In reading through Exodus 19:4-6 we realize obedience is an important part of what it means to be the people of God. Our lives should reflect not just that we have a relationship with God, but that this relationship is important. Here are three question to ask yourself.
1. Do you have a relationship with God?
Obedience means we start with God. We a start in relationship with God. This relationship not only trumps all other relationships, but guides all other things in life. You want a better life with your spouse? Start with your relationship with God. You think your kids need a better father or mother? Nurture your time with God. You want to be better as what you do, your job, your hobbies, your things? Spend time getting to know God, who made you to do those things in the first place. If you don't have a relationship with God (or if it's been a while), get on your knees. Open your heart. Listen to him. Read your Bible. Pray. Give him your life. Get to know him. He wants to know you and pour into your life.
2. How does your life reflect time with God?
What does your rhythm of relationship look like with God? Are you a quiet time person or an everyday life kind of person? Most people who choose the later do so because they rarely spend time with God, and it's better to chose something intangible than nothing. Here's my point: you need both. You need a rhythm of life. But you also need quite times set aside for you and God to connect. And you need to talk to God, your father, throughout the day.
3. Would anyone know the difference?
Imagine I was married (I am) and nobody knew it (everybody knows about Nancy). But how many times do we do this with God? Often he's the last thing we bring up. He's at the bottom drawer in the conversation. He's irrelevant. Is your life lived so that he's absent from most of your day and so most people you run into have no idea you have a relationship with God? Our lives should reflect what's most important; and there's no relationship more important than our life with God.
AB.
