Are You Struggling With Quiet Time?

Quiet times. That's something we all struggle with. There's something about the idea of sitting down to purposely read God's Word and let it change our life that sends our human nature reeling. Excuses come to our rescue, offering logical ways out of doing what we know we need to do.

I have such a hard time making time to listen to God. I find other things, like reading, writing, and crocheting, more appealing at the moment. It's always the last thing I want to do, yet I know I can't grow in my faith if I'm not feeding it. Common knowledge tells us we need food to survive! Why, then, does it fail at the spiritual level? Or if it doesn't, why does it suddenly become less urgent?

In all my spiritual life, I've had spurts of reading my Bible devotedly and praying every day, and feeling as if I was on the brink of heaven because of it. Those are the good days, the fruitful days, the days when God feels so close, I could touch Him if I could only know where to put my finger. (of course, I couldn't touch God, but it almost feels as if I could sometimes. His presence overwhelms me in such moments.) Between those days, sitting down to read my Bible feels like I'm dragging myself through pudding. And when I do start to read, my mind wanders, and before I know it, I've wasted forty minutes of my day doing nothing in particular.

Why is this such a problem? Really, it's ridiculous. Think about it. We want to grow in our faith, but we don't take the time doing the very thing that will accomplish it. We don't want to spend time with the One who created us and sacrificed his life for us. If we were subjects of a generous king in Medieval Europe and were saved from a tyrant's rule by that king, we would be indebted to that king. Now imagine the king invites us to his palace for a chance to meet with him one on one, so he can strengthen our relationship on a personal level. Would you refuse to go? Absolutely not. You would go, probably a little frightened, but overwhelmed with the feeling of unworthiness that the king should want to talk with you, as friends, personally. This might be the worst analogy ever, but I think it makes the point. Refusing to go to the king would act against the thankfulness you claim to have, and it would come close to treason. Worst of all, the king would be grieved and angry.

A few weeks ago, my family and I visited a new church. I went reluctantly, wishing myself among my friends at my home church.

The pastor's sermon was part two in a series about the Ten Commandments, and that day, he talked about the sins prohibited by the first commandment. Among them was practical atheism, which is forgetting God or living like He doesn't exist whenever it is most beneficial. Anyone can commit this, saved or not saved. As I listened, I was struck where I sat. The core sin of practical atheism is not taking God seriously. Not spending time with God because I didn't want to was not taking God seriously. I was dumbfounded, hurt, grieved. I don't want to not take God seriously. He sent His only Son to die for me, making a way for me to escape His wrath. It was a great price to pay, and not showing the respect and godly fear due Him is just like refusing the king's offer in our analogy.

Confronted with this truth, I forced myself to get up the next morning on time, and was able to read my Bible that day. I did the same the next day. It's been three weeks, and I'm still going strong. Already I've felt the difference, a deepening in my relationship with God that can only come from going to Him, to listen and pray. Whenever I feel that old temptation coming back again, I remind myself what I had learned.

That leads me to my challenge to you. If you're struggling with your quiet times, examine your attitude toward it. Are you taking God lightly? Do you feel it's not worth your time? Or are things, urgent things, constantly interrupting? Repent of your wrong view of quiet times, as I did, and experience the closeness of God's relationship with you. If you want to, but are being interrupted, try moving it to another time, maybe before your family gets up in the morning. If mornings don't work for you, try another time of day. You'll be glad you did.