3 Sept 2017 - Do You Have a Quiet Time?

A Practicing Christian ch 5 - Do You Have a Quiet Time?

"You should also have some sort of devotions with your spouse on a regular basis."

Y'all, this is both super important and super difficult. My wife and I have just started going through Psalms and Proverbs - 1 chapter each - every night before we go to sleep and it is the hardest thing to keep consistent with. I mean, I definitely see that it's valuable, in part because of the communication and intimacy it fosters, but also because of the way it is attacked to make it not happen.

"When you give [God] a prized possession, such as your time, it can be a religious sacrifice. How, when, or where you spend time alone with God is not as important as the fact that you do actually spend time alone with God."

Questions

1. How often do you spend one-on-one time with God?
1. I try to have intentional time with God once each day. That being said, I have been accused of putting God in a scheduling block and not meeting with Him elsewhere throughout the day. It's definitely something I need to work on.
2.  What are your challenges to have a regular quiet time?
1. If my schedule's thrown off (i.e. I oversleep during the weekday or sleep in on the weekends) then It's really easy to not stop and make time to make up that time with God.
3. How will you overcome those challenges?
1. I need to prize that time with God more highly than I do. It needs to be that form of worship that doesn't get tossed out because of my scheduling mistakes, but is always of such importance that I prioritize it for the first available block of time.

1 Timothy 2:1-8

"First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone..." - v. 1

This I how I know God has a word for me. First, in my devotional, the topic is having a quiet time. Then, in Scripture, God opens up with a word on prayer.

"Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument." - v. 8

The "Therefore" is speaking regarding the benefit of praying for our leaders and the purpose of God being to salvation. That isn't what stood out, though. What stood out to me is that Paul is calling the men to stand in prayer. Let me pause and rewind there.

He is calling the leaders, the heads of households, the business owners, the role models, the fathers and grandfathers - the men - to pray.

How often do we see men in our churches today taking the lead in prayer (with the exception of the pastors), especially the younger men? I have seen many Godly men, often elderly deacons, display a rich, dedicated, servant-minded, humble walk with God through their prayers. I have also seen many men my age and slightly older who hang back and let their wives do all the praying. Oh God, let my witness be that I spent more time on my knees than any other posture. Let me set the example for my wife and children of Godly leadership - leadership that begins in humility and stems from God.