This morning, while reading Secrets of the Vine (by Bruce Wilkinson), I came upon this:
"Some Christians I know try to have their meaningful personal times with God just before bed, but I have yet to find a respected spiritual leader throughout history who had devotions at night. Unless you get up early, you're unlikely to break through to a deeper relationship with God."
(p. 107-- italics mine)
Personally, I know that I do better in my day, in my attitude, in my work, and in my relationships when I meet with my Savior first. However, I have said many times to many people - whether in face to converstation, or in class discussions, or even in teaching a seminar-- that it does not matter when you have your devotion/quiet time. The key is just that you DO IT.
But, I am challenged by this. I am going to be looking up - yet again - the "rising while it is yet night" and the "early in the morning" passages from scripture. Also, I want to do some research of men and women of the faith who have faithfully walked with God and thus made an impact on this world. (in THEIR world)
Not that I am trying to disprove the statement made by Wilkinson, I am just quite intrigued and challenged by it. Perhaps, it is the gentle hand of my Savior to once again bid me to get up and meet with Him early EVERY DAY on a consistent basis. A time set aside that is not determined by the night before, or the weekend, or the busy lifestyle that I mentioned in my last post, or the..... whatever.
I am sure that I will be back with you on this one...
But in the mean time, I would love to hear your thought and your devotion times...
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8 comments:
My only qualm with these sorts of statements is that it heaps guilt on anyone who doesn't do it in the morning. I, for one, am tired of walking out my faith for fear that I'm not doing something "right"...by who's account? So, I certainly am challenged by such a statement...but I am also honestly annoyed by it. I'm just thinking out loud here, DeeDee and want to thank you for making me think today!
Hugs,
Susan
well... Susan, I understand COMPLETELY where you are coming from.... But this statement made me stop and think too.
love and blessings...
DeeDee,
Thanks for finding me :) I am always joyous to meet another pastors wife! I am very new at this! I for one have found that my quiet time has to be in the morning in order to focus. I fall asleep too easily in the evening. After a day of laundry cleaning cooking teaching and generally keeping up with a baby, a toddler, a preschooler and a 5 year old I am just plain pooped!
I often to my bible studies at naptime or even when the kids are playing but I find my quiet time with God (that honsetly isn't that quiet) has to be in the morning for my benefit. I need to start the day out with the Lord in order to keep my priorities in check. When I set aside the time to do that I am reminded that He comes first, not the dishes or the kids or even my husband. So I have made myself a prayer blog that is only accessible to me. I love to sit and type my thoughts and prayers and it keeps me focused on God even when there are children and chaos all around me. I can go back and look at the answers that God has provided and I have a record of the things He has done in my life. I am not as faithful to it as I should be, but I am working at it and learning to make it a priority. I think it is one of the best things I have done in regards to impementing a private time with my Lord!
Dear DeeDee~
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment! Your blog looks like a very encouraging place. :)
Regarding quiet times, and the quote you are discussing today, I have a few thoughts on it. I love the Lord Jesus Christ, and my desire is to honor and serve and glorify Him with my life. As a young Christian, at the age of 16, I would get up at 5 or 6 am every morning so that I could spend time with Him. I LOVE to do in-depth Bible studies and word studies, and just really saturate my mind with Him and His ways. As an unmarried 20-year-old, I worked full time at a medical clinic, and had to be at work by 8 am. So, I would get up every morning by 5:45 so that I would have time with Him. It was very refreshing, and that time would help me get through a long day at work (especially as I tried to witness to co-workers in an ungodly environment). Later, as a mother of one little one, I continued the practice of getting up early. I just love to be up and see the sun rise and have quiet time!
Fast-forward about 7 or 8 years to the present. Now I am a home schooling mother of 5, age 7 months to 10 years. I won't go into all the details, but we are in the midst of some life circumstances that make getting up early impossible. (Actually, I usually am up very early...around 1 or 2 am! But not by choice...) Our baby has reflux and has been the most difficult sleeper we've ever had. At certain times in his baby-hood, we have had to keep him upright after feeding him, to avoid some of the reflux symptoms. Now we all have colds and baby is teething and not sleeping well. My husband works nights, usually until 1 or 2 am. What is a mother to do? I often pray as I'm awake in the middle of the night. I currently have my quiet time scheduled in the afternoon during nap time.
I think we have to be careful about making "blanket statements" that we think should apply to everyone at any time. For a single person or a person who has no children at home or many other various circumstances, getting up early may be the best option for quiet time. I realize that in the Bible, especially in the Psalms, "early will I seek You" is a recurring theme. But one of the things I know about my Heavenly Father is that He is a God of compassion. He remembers our frame, that we are dust. He sees the situations we are in and He alone knows what we are going through. I think He takes that into consideration when it comes to things like our quiet time. I do think our time alone in the Word is very important and key to our Christian growth. I would just disagree that we can decide for all Christians when they should meet with the Lord.
Thanks for this discussion, DeeDee, and I would agree with you, that the main thing is to JUST DO IT, whenever it is! :)
I got a chuckle out of your post....here's why. Our sermon yesterday at church was about this very topic, priorities. Our pastor spoke on The Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24) And he compared us to the three different people described in the passage.
What makes me chuckle is that while he is preaching about prioritizing our time with the Father, a lady in front of my sister, was reading and circling the garage sale ads in our local newspaper.....so often I too get distracted by things: kids, husband, work, LIFE...that I forget to spend time with my Papa God.....please pray for me on that, that I would yearn for him each morning.....
I am so glad that you stopped by my blog. I can't wait to read more of your posts.
Love,
Jessica
I struggle with getting up early but like you said an early devotion time does help set the focus on the day, to keep it God centered. Getting up early requires discipline. Discipline promotes obedience. But please don't misunderstand I am not saying that if you don't get up early you are disobedient. Like you said the key is that you do it.
Thanks for this challenging post.
Vicki Pounders
I have my quiet time in the morning before the hustle and bustle begins in the household. It's the time of day I'm at my best, so it's the time I give to Him.
There are days when I don't feel like getting up and there are days when I'm up before the rooster crows. But, I made this decision to give Him my early morning time so here I am! (It's a choice and a commitment.)
I agree that sometimes it's not necessarily the time of day you give Him; it's the fact that you give Him time.
Anytime spent with Jesus is time well spent...no matter what time of the day. Some of my best times have been when I awake in the middle of the night and spend time on my knees.
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