By Audrey Christensen
Last month, Texas was hit with a major winter storm. I’m sure you saw the news, but it was a big deal. Jonathan and I were snowed in for almost the whole week, and it was a really nice, restful time, but it knocked me off my usual morning routine. Instead of dealing with morning chores and then sitting down to do my quiet time like I’m used to, there was no pressure to accomplish anything, so my quiet time suffered.
When the snow melted and our routines returned to normal, I started thinking about why my quiet time is important and why it’s super important that I don’t let them suffer in the future when my routine is changed.
Quiet Times Help Us Worship
Sitting down with the Word during a designated time during the day, preferably first thing in the morning, helps us orient our hearts on the Lord. This refocusing gives us the opportunity to obey the command repeatedly given in Scripture to worship the Lord. Because worship is not something that happens solely in the church building, creating a similar structure that we participate in on Sundays—studying the Word, meditating on the Word, and responding in prayer—helps us to carry on the worship that is initiated during Sunday services and worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
I’ve been studying a similar concept in Isaiah 12. Verses 1a, 2-3 read:
Then you will say on that day, ‘I will give thanks to You, O LORD… Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.’ Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.” (NASB)
In his commentary on Isaiah, J. Alec Motyer notes about this passage, “The God who saves continues to minister salvation to His people as an ever-available reality to enjoy. As throughout this song [in Isaiah 12], the objective reality of God’s work of salvation is matched by the subjective element of responsive singing, exultant shouts, and joy” (129). If we have been commanded to worship God as His chosen people, we should desire to worship Him by studying the Scriptures and returning praise to Him every day, not just on Sundays.
Quiet Times Help us in Sanctification
By being soaked in the Word each day, the Spirit can help us more readily identify sin. If we can’t identify sin, how can we kill it? How can our minds be transformed (Romans 12:2)? 1 Peter 1:13-16 addresses the need for sanctification through deep relationship with the Lord explicitly:
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written: ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’ (NASB).
If the Lord has seen fit to give us the gift of His printed Word, surely it is imperative to our relationship with Him and our being formed more into His holy image.
Quiet Times Help us Better Serve the Church
As the bride of Christ, Christians should love the church. Because the church is built up of sinful people, this constant, faithful, serving love can be difficult to maintain. If we don’t love the church with this Christlike love, we cannot rightly be a serving member of the local church. What’s more, we cannot do these things if we don’t even know that we need to be doing them.
1 Peter 4:8, 10-11 says:
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins… As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God. Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NASB)
It would be fair to say that if Dad didn’t spend time studying the Word, he would not be qualified to preach every Sunday. The same is true for all members of the Body. If we are not dedicated to studying the Word and being devoted to prayer throughout the week, we cannot rightly love and serve other members of the church because we cannot understand the mandate given to us by Scripture to do so. These interwoven, Biblical relationships bring great glory to God as the church can better operate in unity.
Quiet Times Help us Evangelize
If Jonathan and I were to (theoretically) watch two episodes of Criminal Minds every evening, we would develop a working knowledge of TV crime, the characters’ relationships, and what we would do if we were ever to be kidnapped in real life. This creating of knowledge through repetition is true with everything we do. You’re good at your job because you practice your knowledge every day. Your relationship with your spouse deepens because you spend time together every day. The same concept applies to evangelistic effectiveness.
If we neglect spending time in the Word every day, how will we be equipped with the knowledge necessary to have an intelligent Gospel conversation with our coworkers? If we are not devoted to prayer, daily asking the Spirit to help us identify Gospel opportunities, how can we be faithful to those God-given opportunities?
It is imperative to our witness that we study the Word and spend time in prayer every day. Doing this helps us to put on the full armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-18), helping us in our daily spiritual struggle and giving us strength to stand firm.
Corinth Baptist Church 