MEMORY VERSE: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).
TEXT: Genesis 19:27-29; 28:18-22; Exodus 34:2-10
As soon as a child is born into the world, his need of breath becomes evident. Shortly afterwards, he cries, expressing his desire for water and, later, food. His need of love is taken care of by the welcome attitude of the mother, father, and other members of the family. The same goes for the newly saved believer who, on receiving the initial assurance of salvation, discovers his need for developing a regular “observance” of a time of prayer and reading the Word of God for growth and personal spiritual upkeep (1 Peter 2:2). Not only that, the need to observe such a time with other members of the family also becomes apparent. He later learns that such times of personal study of the word of God and prayer are referred to, by believers, as quiet time. The issue of quiet time must be taken seriously by individual Christians and families who want to maintain a victorious Christian life in this wicked world and also function effectively in their service for God.
THE PRIORITY OF QUIET TIME
(Genesis 19:27; 28:18-22; Exodus 34:2; Jeremiah 33:3).
Question 1: Give two reasons believers need to observe Quiet Time and family devotion.
The need for the practice of individual quiet time and family devotion cannot be over-emphasized. Two reasons stand out, among many. First, God wants us to be in fellowship with Him. As a loving Father,
He wants to have communion with His children on a daily basis so as to reveal more of himself to them and also direct their path. Sin made humanity to lose this privilege, but Christ came to restore it John 14:6). God calls us to meet with Him every day. We should, in gratitude, respond positively and not be like the children of Israel of whom He said, “I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me” Jeremiah 35:14).
Secondly, regular study of God’s Word and communion with Him in prayer enhance rapid Christian growth (1 Peter 2:2). A Christian cannot grow spiritually without spiritual food as he cannot grow physically without physical food. Like a garden of flowers, God’s friendship needs careful cultivation, and this demands consistency. We must maintain a continuous link with God through personal devotional prayer.
THE PLACE AND TIME OF QUIET TIME
(Exodus 16:21; Psalm 55:17; 88:13; Mark 1:35; Matthew 6:6)
Question 2: Why is the morning time best for personal or family devotion?
When and where should a believer observe his quiet time? A thorough study of the Scriptures shows that the best times are early in the morning and late in the evening before going to bed. This means we should observe our fellowship with the Lord daily. In Exodus 16:21, manna was gathered morning by morning and our ‘manna’ today is “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The Levites (Old Testament type of New Testament believers) offered a daily sacrifice. David performed his vows and cried unto God on daily basis (Psalm 86:3). Paul prayed and was renewed in the inner man (obviously by meditative study of the Word) daily (2 Timothy 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:16). So did the Berean Christians of his time (Acts 17:11). The examples of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:35), David (Psalm 55:17) and Daniel (Daniel 6:10) together with that of numerous Christians down the ages teach us the necessity of starting the day with God because the mind is always fresh in the morning. Rising early helps immeasurably in getting the best from the study of God’s Word and prayer (Genesis 28:18.
Exodus 29:39,42; 30:7; Psalm 5:3; 59:16; 63:1). Also, to have the best from this gracious exercise, one needs a place that is free from distraction and characterized by seclusion and quietness. We get all these from our present places of abode by rising early to read and meditate on the Word of God. Though His disciples were with Him, our Lord Jesus Christ still found time to be alone to pray (Luke 9:18). We can shut off the distraction of people, events, and things to concentrate on prayer and study of God’s Word.
CENTRALITY OF THE WORD DURING QUIET TIME AND FAMILY
DEVOTION (Luke 4:4;Job 23:12; Colossians 3:16 Proverbs 13:13).
In order to benefit maximally from personal Bible study, we need to know the purpose and focus of the Holy Writ. Though a revelation of God, and containing more information about our past, present, and future than any other book, its design is to show us the salvation of God obtainable through Christ Jesus (Psalm 27:la; John 20:31; 2 Timothy 3:15; Acts 20:32). The Bible has a practical purpose of guiding us into the experience of salvation and spiritual maturity. Since this salvation is exclusively through Christ, the focus of the entire Bible is centered on the Savior John 5:39,46; Luke 24:25- 27,44). Christ is made and kept real to us as we study the Word “day by day”. For times of meditative study of the divine book, our prayer should be:
Break thou the bread of life Dear Lord to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves Beside the sea
Break thou the bread of life
Dear Lord to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
Beside the sea
Beyond the sacred page
I need Thee Lord.
My spirit pants for Thee,
O Living Word.
Question 3: With what attitude should we study the Bible?
Question 4: What are the major activities that constitute a rich quiet time?
Prayer is complementary to Bible study in the practice of quiet time. For our Bible study to be meaningful and effective, our prayer should be conditioned and molded by God’s self-revelation in the Bible. He has taken the first step in reconciling us to Himself. We need to reciprocate this love of God (1 John 4:19). Approaching the throne of the King of kings is a privilege specially reserved for God’s children by virtue of Christ’s death on the Cross. God’s manifold blessings upon sinners are for the purpose of drawing them to repentance (Romans 2:4). We pray because we love God. Prayer is also one of our offensive weapons against the enemy. It is the believer’s spiritual breath. We “pray in” what we have gained from the Word of God, expressing our response to what He has said to us. Daily prayer should include the following: worship, thanksgiving, intercession, supplication, and commitment. We worship and adore the Lord for Who He is.
We should express our gratitude for all God’s past mercies received even when we still have some that are yet to be met (Luke 17:12-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Romans 8:28). We should confess our frailties and imperfections to Him and solicit His enabling grace. We should also pray earnestly for other people and present their needs to God as Abraham did for Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:23-33),Jesus for us (John 17:9,11) and Epaphras for the Colossians (Colossians 4:12). Then we should supplicate for our personal needs, both great and small. Finally, we should commit all our activities for the day unto Him, asking Him to be “Lord of all”. This is the secret of joy in His presence every day.
FAMILY DEVOTION (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; 11:18-21)
Every believer should know that it is his responsibility to lead the entire family in the way of righteousness. Abraham did and had God’s commendation (Genesis 18:19), Samuel’s parents did and had one of the prophets. Hezekiah led the whole city of Jerusalem to seek the Lord in his time (2 Chronicles 29:20). Rhoda, Timothy, and the daughters of Philip also had good parental tutelage.
Question 5: Why is family devotion essential in the home?
To accomplish God’s purpose for the family, there is a need to worship together, study together and pray together. The father, as the spiritual head of the home (Ephesians 5:23) takes the lead. A regular time of family altar is ensured when the members have time to sing songs and choruses of worship, the father (or his appointed representative) leads in reading and explaining Scripture passages and time is given for heart-lifting praises, intercession, supplication, and commitment. This is preferably fixed before the activities of the day are embarked upon. Both parents may prefer to have their individual Quiet Time before waking the other family members for corporate worship or choose to have it after. There is no hard and fast rule. It is also helpful for the family to pray together before going to bed. All these will help the spiritual growth of the young family members and their understanding of scriptural truths.
If we must become men and women who have authority in heaven, then, we cannot do without patterning our lives according to all that we have learnt with respect to communion with God.
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