Scripture
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
~Mark 1:35, NIV
Quote
The daily is more important than the length.
~Mary Madeline Whittinghill
Establishing a daily quiet time is easier said than done. It has become, over time and by grace, my favorite time of the day. There are some things we need to understand in order to make our QT fulfilling and enjoyable. My first suggestion is to follow the advise of Mary Madeline Whittinghill: don’t focus on length. Never make is a part of a rigid schedule. Forget about time; the LORD will increase the time as He sees fit. Those of you who have a deadline such as work, cannot spend the time that I do but that is not important. The daily is more important. Get the consistency down and eventually the time factor will works itself out.
The best time for your QT is first thing in the morning. The reason for this is we are setting our sails. The ancient mariners trimmed their sails before leaving port. The wind was the energy that moved their ships. When we set our sails, we allow God to carry us through the day. This speaks not only of energy and strength but also of direction. In a spiritual sense, we go with the wind {Ruach} or as the Spirit leads.
There are two ways to eat a meal: you can swallow it whole like I do or you can take your time and enjoy the taste of the food and the fellowship of those you are with. We all know that if we stop eating, we will die of starvation which is certainly not a problem for me. So it is a fact that you can eat on the run and survive. You will get some benefit out of a quick QT but my advice is to slow your pace and savor the moment. A few relaxed moments with the LORD is better than an hour of rigid cramming. So if you work; use a devotional that is brief and focus on quality, not quantity. In human relationships, no one wants to be squeezed into your schedule so do not hurry, it is offensive to the LORD.
When I was growing up way back in the 1950’s, I never dreamed on being alive in 2020. Matter of fact, June reminded me of a song that came out in 1983: the first line went like this...In the year 2525, if man is still alive…I was 34 years old at the time but even then, I didn’t dream of seeing the year 2525. Yes, I know, I have not seen it but it is not far away. Wow, time flies.
Well we knew it was a matter of time: USA Today is blasting the gunman who killed the assassin who killed one in a Texas Church. A good man with a gun shot a bad man with a gun: its that simple and he saved countless lives.