Do you have daily quiet time with God, your Heavenly Father?
A lot of us have busy lives – probably too busy. Some of us have more free time. Whatever situation you’re in, if you make time each day to read your Bible or a Scripture-based devotional and talk with the Lord in honest prayer, something amazing happens. He’ll open your heart, soul, and mind to hear His voice. He’ll teach you about Himself and show you a higher perspective about your life and what comes your way each day.
But stillness, listening, and peace don’t just happen. It’s up to us to make it a priority. If not, the time will quickly be swallowed up by something else. So why do we struggle to make time for quiet time, even though we know how valuable it is? Let’s think about it.
Before the bombardment of endless distractions became available through technology, we imagine it was much easier for people to find tranquil space back in their day. But since time began, there have been many things to do to provide for the basic needs of life: food, clothing, and shelter. People were just as busy then, but in a different way. Most men and women did much more manual labor than we do today and were often exhausted! Spending quiet time with God was as much a decision then as it is now. Some people included it as part of their basic needs of daily life. Others didn’t. Circumstances may have changed since then, but each of us still chooses one or the other.
Today, stress and anxiety are on the rise for all of us to some degree, especially among young people. How did we get to this point? Is there a connection to what we expose our minds to? What’s competing for – and often replacing – our quiet time to seek the Lord and find His higher wisdom and truth about our lives, culture, and future?
One advantage people in past generations did have was being exposed to less. But over time, the groundwork was gradually laid to reach where we are today – saturated with “fear bait” information about things beyond our control or with a very low percentage of ever happening to us. If left unchecked, this added stress, anxiety, and feeling of hopelessness can overwhelm our balance and mental health. The mega pipeline we have today for delivering both good and bad information grew something like this:
- First there were clay tablets and hand-written documents which eventually led to the printing press, newspapers, books, and magazines.
- Personal communication went from in-person conversations to carrier pigeons and mail to telegraph, telegram, and telephone, then smart phones.
- Mass communication devices were invented that had global reach using radio, television, computers, and the Internet.
Do you see the compounding acceleration that’s happened, especially over the past 200 years? Think about how rapidly information can spread globally today – whether true or false.
Were people more ignorant and less educated without access to everything we have at our fingertips now? While it may be true in some ways, if we examine our own lives and current culture, we can see we’ve also been paying a (high) toll for using it. The cost is our time and in some cases, our mental and even physical health. It’s no secret that the online world is easily addicting. It delivers both good things and garbage, truth and lies, without any conscience either way about the damage it can cause. We haven’t even seen the full range of changes AI is making right now.
The fact is, whatever is stealing our own precious time has taken it because we let it. We can never get it back or use it a different way. If we haven’t really thought about it, it’s because we’ve been on auto-pilot. I don’t think anyone on their deathbed will say, “I wish I binge-watched more series episodes or sports on my tv/tablet/laptop/desktop/phone” or “I’m glad I paid more attention to what celebrities were doing than thinking for myself.” Only we can decide to use our time more wisely by “not going there” and living our own life using the gifts and talents we’ve been given! Do we even remember how?
Did you know that Jesus made having quiet time with God the Father a priority? He purposely got away from the crowds, His friends, and even His disciples to pray. He made Himself the example for us to follow. Mark 1:35 (NIV) says:
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
In Luke 5:16 (NIV) we read that He did this on a regular basis:
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
If He who is holy needed time to be alone, talk with God, and listen to His voice, how much more do we?
RESET HIGHER: Can we listen to God’s voice with loud music playing in the background all the time, or while playing hours of video games, or having the tv or radio on to “keep us company?” Instead, turn off your devices each day and read a chapter or more of your Bible instead. Ask God to teach you and listen to what He says.
When do I write these ThinkSpaces? During my quiet time.
