WHAT IS A QUIET TIME?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
(Psalm 66:18)

MEDITATION:
Do you know what quiet time is?
It is fellowship with a holy God.
The reason that some people do not have a
quiet time, is that they feel uncomfortable.
They don’t want to look God in the face because
there is unconfessed and/or unrepented sin in their life.

What did Adam do after he sinned
and God came walking in the Garden?
Adam fled.
Before that, Adam had quiet time alone with God, didn’t he?

They conversed, they communed, they fellowshipped.
It was a paradise.
But when Adam sinned,
he did not want to look God in the face.

When Moses went into God’s presence, God said,
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
(Exodus 3:5)
Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face,
because he was afraid to look at God.
(Exodus 3:6)
God cannot be in the presence of sin because He is holy.

ACTION:
We’ve all been there, haven’t we?
We know we have unconfessed sin in our life
and we are reluctant to talk to God in prayer.

Why?
Because we know that we have failed
and we are either embarrassed or disappointed in ourselves,
or we don’t want to admit that we have sinned.

How many times have you thought (or said to God),
“I did it again”?
The good news is, your conscience is still working.
The bad news is, the distractions of this world,
or the attractions of sin often drown out the
righteous voices from God.

Remember that God sent the Holy Spirit as our advocate to
assist us in our weaknesses, and to strengthen our resolve
to become more righteous in the eyes of God.
We know the strength of temptation from the evil one.
but we often overlook the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you feel reluctant to go into the presence of God,
there may be unconfessed and unrepented sin in your life.
It could be obvious sins like anger and envy, or it could
be less obvious sins of the heart (such as judging others
from an unloving heart based on our own perceptions).

Let’s face it, we can develop animosity and/or contempt for
others unfairly, based on assumptions we have made which
could be totally wrong and do not benefit us or the other person.
Also, we need to remember that we are supposed to be
personifying the love of Christ in our own lives, and
that cannot happen as long as we continue developing
negative attitudes toward others.

Even while Jesus was being crucified,
He had compassion and not disdain for others.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes
by casting lots. (Luke 23:34)

We are also given instructions on how we should treat others.
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against
anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may
forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25)

We may say we have forgiven someone for how we feel
they have wronged us, but when we continue judging
them unfairly, our forgiveness is incomplete.
If we truly forgive, and we sincerely want to reestablish
or improve our relationships with someone, we should
learn to be appreciative of their good qualities and stop
focusing on the things that we perceive as negatives
(which may be incorrect).

We cannot “live as Christ” if we
are still living, thinking, and making decisions “like the devil”.
Part of your quiet time is to get your heart clean and pure
(with God and with others).
Each of us needs to confess and repent as the first step of
coming into God’s holy presence for fellowship.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for I have sinned against You. I
have failed to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and look for
a way to escape the temptations before me. Teach me to invite
the Holy Spirit into my daily life and to listen for His voice
when I am tempted. Thank You Father for sending me an Advocate
who knows me better than I know myself, who can strengthen me
in my weak areas, who voices the prayers of my heart whenever I
struggle to express my innermost feelings to You, and who can
show me how to be victorious over the nagging temptations which
follow me around on a daily basis. Thank You for loving me and
wanting the best for me in this life.”