Quiet time is the time that we set aside as believes to build our relationship with God through Jesus Christ in praising God and studying the words of God.
1. When you are born again, the first thing you will experience is the love for God in your heart. You will begin to thirst for the words of God. As new born baby, you will desire the sincere milk of the word of God.
2. You will then demonstrate your new love to Christ by studying His words (The Bible).
3. As you discover treasures in the Bible, you are daily encouraged to search the scriptures more to obtain strength and ammunition to defeat the devil. You will also begin to memorise the scriptures and to store them in your heart.
4. When you read the scripture daily, it becomes a habit to you.
5. When it becomes your habit, it becomes your lifestyle.
For New Convert, they needed to be supported (follow-up) and encouraged initially. You can call them or visit them and ask them to share what they learn in the word of God and how it blesses them that day. I have always found the words of God that I earlier read in the day relevant to meet the day’s challenge. This is still a mystery to me till today!
Don’t ask a new convert to start reading Bible from Leviticus. Even some matured Christians will get frustrated easily. The book of Hebrews summarises Leviticus and as mature Christian, you may wish to study them together.
We should have pen and paper with us to jot down important lessons as we read the word of God. Make a habit to jot down how you are blessed during your quiet time. Overtime, you may realise you now have sufficient material to write a book!
Students and unmarried can have a specific and particular location for their quiet time but for those that are married and working, it may not be that easy to have a consistent time and place for quiet time.
When I was a student, I usually wake up very early in the morning to observe my Quiet time at the University. This was an habit that I learnt from my mother. As a student, I have absolute control of my time at the time. I can observe my quiet time on my bed or find a classroom to observe it and read my books thereafter.
If you are married, do not ignore your partner on the pretext that you are having a quiet time. This is not right. This is not good and it is not godly. Also, do not go into fasting and praying without advance notice to your partner. You may be defrauding him or her by so doing. Agree with your partner on everything you do especially on spiritual matter. Do not leave him/her in bed at 3am to go for quiet time without previously agreeing with him or her. Let’s do everything with wisdom lest we become vulnerable to satan.
Quiet environment is great for our quiet time but a quiet mind is greater and better. If your mind is busy with sinful thoughts, you will still not enjoy the peace required even if you relocate to a dungeon. Have peace with God and peace with men.
In my experience in the UK, I have had to have my quiet time in the train on my way to work and God still blesses me.
If you have the opportunity, morning is the best time but having it at any other time of the day is still okay. Ensure no one day goes without observing your quiet time. If you can find time to talk to your friends, you must be able to find time to talk to Jesus, a Friend like no other.
A key thing to avoid is distraction. If you study your Bible using your phone, (which I do not recommend), you may be easily distracted by messages and calls coming in now and then. You can put your phone away and open your hard cover Bible for spiritual energy for the day – spiritual Tablet????
Don’t confuse family altar with quiet time. Quiet time is YOU and GOD; family altar is YOUR FAMILY and GOD.
Don’t observe quiet time so you can preach or teach others the Bible. Observe quiet time for your personal development. Prayers, preaching, counselling, singing, etc becomes so easy once you are breathed upon by God during your quiet time.
Now that we know what quiet time means, let’s go and do it or if we have been doing it before, let us continue to do it.
Bishop Roland Ayeni
09 January 2021.
