“A Quiet Time”

Many of us live busy lives and are ‘on the go’ most of the time. Some from dawn to dusk every day. If you are a Christian, are you in this category? Thank God for Sunday when we can attend church for worship services. 

A quiet time from the routines of life is absolutely essential for Christians to take a break from the pressures of life and spend quality time in God’s presence for prayer and spiritual refreshment. 

The Lord Jesus knew the importance of a quiet time for prayer. The Bible says this about Him. “But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16). 

Note the language of the text. As a verb, withdraw means ‘to leave a place or situation.’ Desolate means ‘deserted of people.’ 

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find peace and quiet while pursuing our daily activities for those of us who work for a living. On the other hand, the same can be applied to family obligations and commitments. Time is hard to find, hence, one must actually take the time to accomplish things of importance. 

It is said that each day has twenty-four hours of which eight hours are assigned for work activity, while eight hours are for sleep and rest. The remaining eight hours should be utilized for leisure as one chooses. But how many of us does this apply to? 

Each person knows their personal routines and commitments on any given day. However, the point is that as Christians, shouldn’t we make sacrifices for the God we worship and serve? Especially in view of the fact we pass the present time only once. Yesterday cannot be recalled. Tomorrow is at best uncertain. That leaves us with only today to make the best use of.

The Lord Jesus is our best example in living the Christian life. Therefore, since He saw the necessity of taking time to pray to His Father, shouldn’t we follow His perfect example and do likewise.

Our text says Christ “would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” Desolate places is in the plural, which means He did this often. Because prayer is communicating with God; it can’t be a now and then practice. The Scripture teaches us to pray without ceasing. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). These verses are one sentence. 

Just about everything in life is important for some of us. However, as a child of God, that which concerns Him ought to be high priority. Christ said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). We must seek the things that are of God as priority over those things that have little to no spiritual value. 

God will certainly take care of our temporal needs such as mentioned in Matthew 6 that we don’t have to be anxious about them. Also, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). 

With these assurances in Scripture, what hinders us from making God and the things of God a priority in living the Christian life? Christ has demonstrated that His Father was a priority for Him by withdrawing to places where He could spend time in prayer.

It is far easier to maintain our focus on God by “coming apart” for a quiet time in His presence. The rush and bustle of everyday living is filled with a variety of nonspiritual distractions. This is a good reason why a quiet time is essential for spiritual maturity.