Quiet Time

Quiet Time is a term used to describe regular individual sessions of Christian spiritual activities, such as prayer, private meditation, or study of the Bible. The term "Quiet Time" is used by 20th-century Protestants, mostly evangelical Christians. It is also called "personal Bible study" or "personal devotions". Rick Warren points out that it has also been called "morning watch" and "appointment with God".[1]

Practices vary according to denominational tradition: Anglican devotions, for example, will occasionally include the use of prayer beads, while Catholics may use a rosary. Billy Graham suggests that Quiet Times consists of three main elements: prayer, Bible reading, and meditation. He also mentions that many Christians accompany these three elements with journaling.[2]

Background

Proponents of the concept point out that Jesus often spent time alone in prayer: Luke 5:16 says that "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (NIV). Leslie Hardin suggests that this was Jesus' Quiet Time: spending time in prayer and fellowship with God.[3]

Use

Jerry and Becky Evans argue that the Quiet Time is a time of encouragement, strengthening, and insight to the Christian, and "spiritual food" for a person’s soul.[4] They suggest that it is a "time of complete focus on God" that "continues throughout a person’s entire life."[5]

Keith Newman suggests that as well as including conscious study and expressive prayer, a quiet time is a time of open-minded listening and waiting for guidance.[6]

Rick Warren argues that there is a difference between reading the Bible during Quiet Time and Bible Study.[1]

Materials

Many devotional books, or "devotionals", are available in shops today. These books contain directed Bible studies, often incorporating stories or anecdotes that convey Biblical principles, similar to the parables used by Jesus in his ministry. A notable example is My Utmost for His Highest, written by Oswald Chambers. Many Christian stores dedicate an entire section to these types of books, but in some countries they are available at secular stores as well, often shelved in the "inspirational" section.

Some Christian communities (e.g. Christadelphians) have Bible reading schedules, like the one suggested in the Bible Companion, for example, as one tool to help them with their study of the Bible. Such schedules take people systematically through the entire Bible, reading approximately four chapters per day (in the case of the Bible Companion), which allows the reader to keep context in their studies through the different books of the Bible, and ensures different areas are not neglected.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne also designed a system for reading through the Bible in one year. The plan entails reading the New Testament and the Psalms through twice a year, and the Old Testament through once. This program was included (in a slightly modified form) in For the Love of God by D. A. Carson (ISBN 0851115896) and is recommended by several Bible publishers, such as the English Standard Version[7] and the New English Translation.[8]

The use of study Bibles is also popular.

Criticism

Evangelical theologian Greg Johnson criticizes the way the concept is treated by evangelicals as an almost obligatory part of a relationship with God. He emphasizes that the practice is not commanded in the Bible, and was not even possible for many centuries, until the printing press and certain economic conditions enabled most Christians to own their own copies of the Bible.[9]

However, this was a common practice. The prophet Daniel regularly met with God 3 times a day to talk to God and listen to Him (see Daniel 6:10). In addition, King David often mentions his times alone with God (morning and evening) throughout the Psalms. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) record that Jesus Himself withdrew to met in a quiet, isolated place with His Father on a regular basis (see Mark 1:35; Matthew 14:13; John 6:15). The Apostle Paul alludes to several occasions where he spent time speaking to God. He also commands young Timothy to study God's Word and know it well to show himself approved unto God (see 2 Timothy 2:15). While a "quiet time" is not specifically commanded, desire and knowledge for the Word of God and regular, personal contact with God is necessary for sustainable, spiritual growth.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bible Study Methods: Twelve Ways You Can Unlock God's Word by Rick Warren. Appendix A.
  2. ↑ The Journey by Billy Graham. Page 102.
  3. ↑ Leslie Hardin, The Spirituality of Jesus: Nine Disciplines Christ Modeled for Us, p. 28.
  4. ↑ Quiet Times by Jerry and Becky Evans. Page 1.
  5. ↑ Quiet Times by Jerry and Becky Evans. Page 3.
  6. ↑ Newman, W. Keith (4 April 1997), The Quiet Time, Kingston, Jamaica: Initiatives of Change
  7. ↑ http://www.esv.org/biblereadingplans ESV Bible Reading Plans
  8. ↑ NET Daily Reading Plans
  9. ↑ "Freedom from Quiet Time Guilt". Gregscouch.homestead.com. Retrieved 2010-07-02.