August 22, 2017
His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.—Psalm 1:2–31
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The secret of drawing closer to God is prayer and communion with Him through meditating on His Word. But it’s not just quickly opening your Bible. I’m sure that the failure of many Christians to gain much from meditation arises far more often from opening their Bibles too quickly than from shutting them too quickly!
When opening your Bible, ask God to reveal to you the riches of what you’re going to read.2 Your prayer can be very simple, such as, “Holy Spirit, help me to get in touch with God,” but it has to be a sincere cry from the heart, a real hungering and thirsting.3
You can’t survive spiritually on just a few sips of the milk of the Word on Sunday morning or an occasional nibble of a verse or two from the Bible. In order to grow morally and spiritually, you also need full meals; you need to chew on and assimilate the meat of God’s Word.4 That’s how you can come to know the joys, the benefits, the comfort, the peace and rest that can be found in Jesus—and the closer the walk with Him, the greater the revelations of His power and glory.
Jesus wants you to have the things He has to give.5 He wants to give you His best, and He longs for you to have peace and rest and joy. He says, “My peace I give to you,”6 and “Ask and you will receive so that your joy will be complete.”7 He even desires for you to succeed in all that you do!8
He wants His children to have all this because He loves us. He wants you to draw closer to Him so you’ll know the life He comes to give: a life above the common, a life above the mediocre, a life above the ordinary. “God is the strength of my heart and all I need forever.”9—Virginia Brandt Berg
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Every great man or woman of God throughout history has spent much time alone with God. Anyone who has ever been used mightily by the Lord was a man or woman of the Word and prayer. Regular quiet time was the one thing they had in common. The common denominator between Moses, David, Daniel, Paul, Calvin, Wesley, Finney, Moody, Spurgeon, Billy Graham, and all of the great saints of history is that they all spent much time with God in personal fellowship. Their writings and ministries clearly show this.
Someone has said, “If you want to find out what a man is really like, find out what he is like alone with God.” Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, once said, “I have so much to do today that I must spend at least three hours in prayer.” The busier he was, the more time he needed with God. If you’re too busy to have a quiet time, then you’re too busy!
“But I don’t have the time!” is an excuse we hear so often. Every person in the world has exactly the same amount of time each week—168 hours—and you will spend some of those hours on things you think are important. You don’t have time for everything; you must make time for things that really count. It’s not a matter of time, but a matter of priorities. What is really important to you?
The key to making time for quiet time is your commitment to Christ and the Kingdom of God. Jesus stated, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”10 Put God first in your life and you will have more time. Don’t let anything rob you of that time of fellowship with the Lord. Preserve it at all costs. If Jesus Christ is first in your life, you ought to give Him the first part of every day. Your quiet time should be the absolute number one priority commitment of your life.—Rick Warren11
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Time spent alone with God is not wasted. It changes us; it changes our surroundings; and every Christian who would live the life that counts, and who would have power for service must take time to pray.—M. E. Andross
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To learn from Jesus, you have to stop and look and listen. If you don’t, instead of running over with His truth, His love, and His joy, you’ll get run over by all the cares of this life. If you drive yourself too hard and too fast, you may never get there! You’ll get out of touch with Jesus and our heavenly headquarters. Like the little girl said about her new kitten, “Oh, Mama, the kitty’s gone to sleep and left its engine running,” you may be running around but still be asleep spiritually. You may be busy but not be getting anywhere, “as one who beats the air.”12
You cannot do the Master’s work without the Master’s power, and to get it, you must spend time with the Master. Jesus said that only one thing is needful: to sit at His feet and learn of Him. Those who have chosen this good part, it shall never be taken away from them.13 If you’re too busy to get alone with Jesus and pray, you’re too busy!
So take time to be holy—wholly His. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God. In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.”14—David Brandt Berg
Published on Anchor August 2017. Read by Jerry Paladino.
Music by John Listen.
1 ESV.
2 1 Corinthians 2:10.
3 Matthew 5:6.
4 Hebrews 5:12.
5 John 10:10.
6 John 14:27.
7 John 16:24 CEB.
8 Psalm 1:3.
9 Psalm 73:26 NLV.
10 Matthew 6:33.
11 Rick Warren, 12 Dynamic Bible Study Methods (Victor Books, 1987).
12 1 Corinthians 9:26.
13 Luke 10:39–42.
14 Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 30:15.
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