3 Things the Bible Doesnt Say About Quiet Time

3 Things the Bible Doesn’t Say About Quiet Time

9/30/2022

From my earliest memories of growing up in the church, I remember that having a personal quiet time was strongly emphasized. Because of this and my desire to be a “good Christian,” I believed a daily quiet time was at the top of my checklist of how to please the Lord. However, more often than not I found myself failing in this area. Truth be told, I still do at times.

There are definitely seasons where I am committed and consistent in personal Bible study. And then, some subtle shift or change takes place, and months later I wake to wonder where my desire and resolve have gone.

I don’t believe I am alone in this. We all go through periods like this. It’s no wonder that so many believers are left feeling like failures in this area. Of course, we ought to take time to reflect on our priorities and possible idols when we find ourselves in such patterns.

But I also have come to realize that I, along with many other believers, have a poor understanding of what it really means to have a quiet time. The result is continued feelings of failure as well as a genuine lacking of personal growth through private study.

To be honest, most of what we believe to be requirements for a good quiet time isn’t something directly stated in Scripture. Most of the systems, regimens and expectations are plans designed by man. Those frameworks are a double-edged sword since they can aid and help us, but they can also become a hindrance to us, too. This is because, no matter how much we believe in a gospel of grace, our actions often betray our penchant for works.

We judge our spirituality (and others) on performance. We measure our relationship with God on the length of our prayers, how many ministries in which we serve, and how long we study our Bibles. All of those things are certainly good and important, but they are not the yardstick. We feel good about ourselves when we are able to strike the externals off of our spiritual checklist without really giving thought to whether or not they are effectual in the doing. In short, we choose quantity over quality. We apply ourselves to a man-made list of dos and don’ts, and forget to ask ourselves the real question, “What does God require of us?”

This kind of living is not sustainable. We cannot muster our good works independently forever. And so, it comes as no surprise that we find ourselves in alternating seasons of productivity and then burnout.

If we want to break this cycle, then we must change the way we think.

We have to align our thoughts with what the Bible tells us God desires and commands of us instead of creating lists and expectations that are based more on the ideas and perceptions of man.

With that as our goal, let us consider a few of the misconceptions that so many of us believe when it comes to having a quiet time.

3 Things the Bible Doesn’t Say About Quiet Time:

Your quiet time has to follow a special system.
One of the biggest mistakes I have made over the years is feeling like I wasn’t really doing quiet time right if I wasn’t following a widely used plan of study. I have sabotaged myself so many times by focusing more on the system than on whether or not it was actually productive.

Many years ago I was chided by an older believer, whom I highly respected, for never having endeavored to read through the Bible in a year. I don’t believe it was their intention to cause me such distress, but I left that conversation feeling like I must be doing this all wrong. I abandoned the the study I was working through at that time to devote myself entirely to this other believer’s prescribed method. Looking back, that was foolish for many reasons, especially since what I was doing before was helping me to learn and grow. But I felt I had to measure myself to someone else’s expectations and way of doing things. As a result, I didn’t really glean anything from my reading time. I just checked it off the list. Because I wasn’t learning and growing, the desire to continue began to wane over time, and before I knew it, I felt like giving up and did.

Systems of study are great aids to help us get started and stay organized, but we need to remember there is no magic in a system. What really matters is whether you are learning. Are you growing? Is the Word changing you?

What works for some does not work for all. For myself, I learned that I can read through the Bible, but not in a year. I need to go slow, section by section, and really examine a passage in order to make it profitable.

Additionally, what has worked for me in one stage of life is not always possible in another. What helped me in college is very different than what was effective as a young single adult. Now as a wife and mother, I’m having to learn to approach personal study in ways I haven’t before. Life changes, and so must we. If we get so hung up on sticking to prescribed methods and neglect to discover how we can truly study the Word in a way that allows us to know God more, then we do ourselves a great disservice.
Your quiet time has to be a certain length.
In my twenties, I remember really enjoying my Saturdays because I could linger much longer in the morning in my quiet time. At that time in my life, I definitely had fewer responsibilities and more time to use at my leisure. I was still busy, but I didn’t have as many people depending on me and my time as I do today.

I often look back on those days and wish I could have the time I had then today. I can easily compare the time I spend now in the Word to times past without also remembering that I have many more responsibilities and demands right now. This leads to guilt and discouragement and feeling as if I am missing the mark.

Let me be clear if we are only setting aside the bare minimum of time to the Lord, while freely devoting ourselves to other personal pursuits, there is a problem. If my husband and I only allocated 15 minutes to one another each day but freely availed ourselves of other opportunities without time restrictions, our relationship would surely suffer and we would quickly lose any sense of connection. So it is with our walk with God.

Additionally, the amount of time we spend with the Lord has very little purpose if it is not spent intentionally and effectively. For example, I spend almost all my waking hours with my daughter, Emmy. I am with her all day. But just because we are together in physical proximity doesn’t mean our time together has been of great value. In order for that to happen, I must engage with her, be purposeful in our conversations, and deliberate about our interactions.

I can spend hours reading the Bible or listening to sermons, but if I am preoccupied with other thoughts or simply fulfilling an obligation, what good are those hours?

God asks us to give our whole hearts, so no matter if you have 30 minutes, an hour, or more, make sure the time you spend studying His Word is devoted solely to Him and engages your entire heart, soul, and mind.
Your quiet time has to feel profitable or be enlightening.
I have been very guilty of judging my time with God on the basis of something very fickle — feelings. There are times when our study of the Bible feels like we have had a genuine, personal experience with the Lord. The Holy Spirit instructs us and opens our eyes to truth or application in ways we had never considered. We leave those quiet times feeling as if we have truly encountered God. We revel in that mountaintop feeling. However, there are many days when we don’t experience such emotions.

Often as we study, especially when we are bogged down in difficult passages, we can find ourselves fixating on the desire to feel that sense of communion or enlightenment. We get easily discouraged when those days come more frequently together.

Let’s be honest, not every Bible study session is going to be a breakthrough. Not every quiet time is going to lead to an epiphany. If you’ve ever read through the genealogies in the Old Testament then you know this to be true! But even on those days, we can be assured that our time in God’s Word is still profitable. Why? Because His Word is always profitable.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Every book, chapter, line, and word of the Scriptures is valuable. That means our time in it is only wasted if we neglect to treasure it. Instead of measuring our quiet time on whether or not we felt moved or learned something new, we ought to ask ourselves these questions:

How did I see God’s character and glory displayed in what I read today?
How will that knowledge change my attitude and actions today?

Some days, these questions will be easier to answer than others. But the effort to seek out and find it is well worth it. Knowing God is the goal of our study, not a happy feeling.

What the Bible Does Say About Quiet Time:

While the Bible doesn’t provide us with a line item to-do list when it comes to our quiet time, it does give us guidance. The clearest counsel we are given is found to us by the Apostle Paul.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Paul tells us we are not to be like the world but rather to be like Christ. We are commanded to pursue Christlikeness. This is the whole purpose of studying God’s Word, and it comes down to three simple words: “renew your mind.”

We cannot be transformed without the Word of God, and Paul is clear that the battle is first won in our minds. We renew, revive, and reconstruct the way we live by first changing the way we think. That can only be done through the study of the Scriptures, through immersing and washing our minds with His truth.

This is why we set aside purposeful, quality time in God’s Word. It isn’t just a duty to be completed or an outward work to be crossed off a list of spiritual to-dos. When we forget this foundational focus of renewing our minds, we can set ourselves on a course to be burnt out by expectations, methods, and other externals that keep us from our simple goal — knowing God. It is through knowing Him that we can see ourselves rightly, we can think rightly, and we can live rightly.

If you are overwhelmed or have grown weary in the pursuit of a quiet time that honors the Lord and grows your faith, begin by removing the pressure we put ourselves to craft a quiet time that meets the requirements designed by man and brings your focus back to God. Take time to pray and ask the Lord to help you clear away all these distractions and expectations. Focus on the task of renewing your mind through His Word. Then begin to search out the character and glory of God in His Word. Learn of Him, talk to Him, and adore Him. This is what He requires of us, and He will help us to do it.