Quiet Time
Do you remember what quiet is? Families have been spending more time together than ever before with jobs switching to work-from-home and schools conducting e-learning; we are together more now than usual and with that can come a lot of noise. Not just louder sounds in the house, but distractions and stress and busyness. It can be taxing on a person to always be around people. When we read through the Gospels we find that crowds were often around Jesus. Crowds would be waiting for Him when He arrived at a place; they would gather when He preached and come to Him for healing. Our Lord never turned anyone away and as we studied last week, He even turned interruptions into inspired interactions. But Jesus Himself even needed time alone to be in intentional, personal prayer with God.
“After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.” (Matthew 14:23)
“Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” (Mark 1:35)
“One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone.” (Luke 9:18a)
Notice that Jesus isn’t going away from the crowds and indulging in some escapism habit. Oftentimes we feel this need for alone time and we immediately reach for our phone. We want to unwind by scrolling through social media or playing a mindless game or watching pointless videos. While it’s not a sin to unwind with non-sinful activities, we need to be intentional about how we spend our quiet time and not elevate our device to idol-status.
“But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” (Luke 5:16)
“‘But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’” (Matthew 6:6)
Luke tells us that withdrawing from the crowds to pray was something Jesus did often. Would you describe the frequency of your prayer time as often? We might often get away from our family and responsibilities for a bit of a break, but do we use that break for quiet time with the Lord? Do you spend more time unwinding with your phone or God? When Jesus taught about prayer He taught that it was something we should do by ourselves, away from others. It’s natural to need quiet and alone time, and what we are yearning for is time alone with God. If Jesus needed quiet time with the Lord “often,” how much more do we need it?
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3)
“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” (Jeremiah 31:25)
When we spend intentional time with the Lord, our souls are refreshed. The next time you need some time to yourself, leave your phone behind, go into your room, shut the door and spend some time in communication with the Lord.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
