Making Quiet Time with God

I want to tell you at the beginning that I am writing this article for myself. Deliberately setting aside quiet times with God is something I need to really work on. Quiet times with God are essential to true spirituality, a healthy relationship with God, and true religion. Yet in our busy world with hectic schedules and never enough time for the things that constantly call out of our attention, when can I have "quiet" time with God? (I'm asking myself more than I'm asking you). Here are a few principles and passages that I am studying that speak to the importance of what some call the "discipline of solitude" and taking quiet time to be with God.

1. I need to find a quiet place to just quietly breath with and speak to God (Matthew 6:5-6). The danger of religion is that it can easily become something that we only do in sight of other people. Jesus says that true spirituality means connecting with God in places of solitude. It is where God and I meet together privately. That place of solitude may be in an "inner room" (vs. 6), at a quiet place in the woods or a park, in the car on a long commute home, or it may be at the kitchen table long before the sun rises every morning. One brother meets God in quiet places in a cottage in the Cotswolds of England. Wherever the place, I need to make a regular time (perhaps daily) of meeting with God (cf. Luke 9:23).
2. I have to deliberately make the time to be with God (Ephesians 5:15-16). Life has a funny way of hurriedly rushing by us. Paul says that we must "make the best use of the time" that we have. I must realize that Satan's greatest tactic against me is to crowd God out of my life by filling it with lots of good (but less important) things. I must really practice the hymn I've been singing all my life, "Take time to be holy, the world rushes on; spend much time in secret with Jesus alone."
3. I have to make quiet time to experience God in my life (Psalm 46:10, ESV). The Psalmist says that in order to "know God" I have to "be still." Under the new covenant we are no longer commanded to keep the Sabbath day of rest as a communal religious observance. But was God not teaching an eternal, spiritual principle when he instructed the Jews to take time to "rest" from work? Even God took a day to rest from his labor and reflect on what he had done (Genesis 2:2-3). Surely God knew that we would be consumed with the physical world (work and recreation) and would have to be told to "be still" and "unhook" ourselves from the world and reflect upon him (Exodus 20:8-11). Maybe I can learn a lesson for my spiritual walk with Jesus from this Old Testament principle--turn off the television, put down the cell phone, disconnect the iPod, and "be still and know God."

Jesus had the most intimate connection with God that anyone could ever experience. He says, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). Yet, even Jesus needed times when he "sent the crowd away" and "departed into a mountain to pray" (Mark 6:46), sometimes spending all night in prayer (Luke 6:12). Jesus realized that to feed his connection with God he needed to go into a quiet place, not into the noisy crowds (even of the Temple).

As Christians we are commanded to assemble together as Christians. We need time together and are commanded not to forsake these gatherings (Hebrews 10:25). However, such assemblies are not enough, by themselves, to connect you to God in an intimate way. Dallas Willard has observed, "Indeed, solitude and silence are powerful means to grace. Bible study, prayer, and church attendance, among the most commonly prescribed activities in Christian circles, generally have little effect for soul transformation, as is obvious to any observer" (The Great Omission, page 153). This is what Jesus seems to be communicating when he tells us not to limit our religious activities to things within the sight of other men (Matthew 6:1ff).

Real spiritual transformation occurs when we "set our affection on things above" and allow our lives to be "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-4). It is possible to be very busy with religious activities but not have any real personal connection with God (Matthew 15:8). We must choose "the better part" and spend quality time with Jesus (Luke 10:41-42).