Quiet Time
I do not know how familiar you are with the term “quiet time” as there are many other names (like “one-on-one time” or “heart-to-heart time”). Whatever term you use, they all mean the same: spending time alone with God. This can be reading and studying the Bible, praying, contemplating or meditating.
We even find the Lord Jesus having a quiet time in Luke 5:16: “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray”. I would like to emphasise two aspects here: firstly, that the Lord Jesus withdrew himself and secondly, that he withdrew to a desolate place.
If you withdraw yourself, then you leave a group of people. You try to be on your own completely, and this is necessary if you want to concentrate on God. If you want to pray or read the Bible to hear what God wants to tell you, it is rather distracting if you are surrounded by crowds of people. It is therefore a lot better to be on your own, to withdraw yourself from the hustle and bustle, so that you can hear the voice of God or concentrate on your prayer. This is a lesson Samuel wanted to teach Saul as well when Saul was to become king. Samuel tells him in 1 Samuel 9:27: “Stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.” This is what we need to do. We need to stop doing what we are doing, withdraw from the people we are surrounded by and fix our mind and heart only on God.
And where can we do this? The Lord Jesus shows us: in desolate places. Another Bible translation uses the word “wilderness”. What do we find in the wilderness? Nothing, really. It is a place where there are hardly any distractions. That is the second thing you need to do: find a place that does not detract your thoughts. These days, there are many distractions, e.g.: smartphones, computers, social media, but also your own thoughts or duties can occupy your mind so much that you get distracted. Those distractions will most certainly pop up when you want to have quiet time with God as the devil has an interest in disturbing your quiet time with the Lord. Therefore, the Lord Jesus encourages us to go to a place where we do not have those distractions.
I do not know where you have your quiet time, but it is wise to go to a place where everything that could possibly interrupt your conversation with God has been removed. Where could such a place be? Matthew 6:6 gives us the answer: “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.”
