Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I think these two verses give us an idea of what the lives of a disciple of Christ should look like; meditate on the Word day and night & pray without ceasing. They are lofty goals and they far exceed a small block of ‘quiet time’. So how does the concept of quiet time play into this?
Quiet time is really an opportunity to fellowship with God free from distractions. Our lives are busy & full of distractions so any time we can set aside to focus on our relationship with God is highly beneficial. Consider that our faith is founded on not a set of religious laws, but on a personal relationship with Christ. Alone time is so important to build that relationship.
It’s like when you were dating your spouse. You probably couldn’t wait to see them & learn more about them. If suddenly they stopped returning your phone calls & texts, you never would have built the relationship…actually you probably wouldn’t be married to them at all. Even now as married couples, how important is communication & time alone with each other?
Also, I think quiet time is a good way give the Holy Spirit room to work. In John 14:26, Jesus talks about sending the Holy Spirit as our counselor to ‘teach us all things’. Because we live in the world & have all these competing forces that are not of God pushing against us, it’s easy to drown out the teaching of the Spirit. A good quiet time that includes prayer & Bible reading are tools for the Spirit to mold us in the image of Christ. So, quiet time is also an appointment for the Spirit to work on us.
Lastly having a quiet time where the Spirit is speaking to you through prayer & through your Bible reading gives you something to think about throughout the day. In group someone said that they often read a verse in the morning about patience & then they find they need that patience throughout the day. A good quiet time sets the tone for your life to reflect Joshua 1:8 & 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
If you would like to dig deeper into the why & how of quiet time, read this: https://bible.org/article/quiet-time-what-why-and-how
