March
19
Author
David Ash
Quiet Times - Part 1 of 4

Quiet Times
I won’t need long to convince you that relationships depend on time and energy being spent maintaining and growing them. Even long term relationships will wane when contact isn’t made.

In reality our relationship with God, our Heavenly Father is no different, the more time we spend together the stronger our relationship will be. This is seemingly a given and yet many Christians find making time to spend with our Heavenly Father really difficult.

Most of us would agree that spending regular time in God’s word and in prayer are important - but we struggle to do this consistently.

Why would this be? Are we expecting too much of ourselves and these times? May be we’re expecting them to always be monumental, mystical & exciting. Rather than the reality that our emotions fluctuate day by day, some days will be euphoric, whilst others more mundane. Actually it's really key that we don’t allow feelings to totally dictate how we spend our time!

Equally planning to spend time with God shouldn’t be done for the wrong reasons or because it just become a habit. Likewise it shouldn’t be due to peer pressure or as an end to itself. The whole point of taking time is to spend it with Jesus, as to Him, it's not meant to be an empty duty but because Father God has given us the privilege of being able to spend time in his presence.

Ok so what next?
Well, if you agree that this should be a priority then what’s next? It is vital that we find a place in our lives for God to speak to us through his word, where we can pray, listen & learn to respond to his direction.

However its important that we don’t emphasise a one size fits all method, inevitably one method will work for some people, but may leave others feeling condemned or left out. God will speak to each one of us in different ways, and at different times. We are all unique, uniquely gifted and with a unique perspective. Some people will find that making some extra time in the morning works well for them, whilst others find that a different time during the day is better.

It’s not so much the timing, or even really the length but the consistency of choosing to spend time in God’s presence - it can’t fail to change us!

...next section coming tomorrow...