** This series of posts is designed to help Super Summer Students transition back into normal life after a glorious week. These posts should be helpful to any Christian wanting to grow and work through basic issues of Christian living. **
One of the reasons that Super Summer is so powerful an event for students is the fact that, for a set of five straight days, students find themselves actively involved in worship, Bible study, and prayer. This is combined with the fact that students are also totally removed from the distracting influence of outside media. The experience is sort of like a spiritual detox, where you intensely connect with God while not allowing Internet, texting, radio, movies, TV, or other unhelpful things to direct your focus away from the Lord.
It is nearly impossible to return home and not have outside media influence you. If you are a Super Summer student who is reading this, you obviously are Internet connected. Thus, you will not be able to hide yourself from the distractions completely. However, if you will do a little work, you can make sure that, for a portion of your day, you are quiet and connected to your God.
The common term that Christians use to talk about shutting out the distractions and focusing on the Lord is “quiet time.” You will often hear Christians talking about what they learned in their quiet times or how their day did not go right after missing their quiet times. Know right up front that there is no biblical pattern for what is contained in a quiet time, but there are some helpful things that we can suggest.
First, schedule your quiet time. This can be early morning, middle afternoon, or evening. Whatever time you pick, stick to it. make this an appointment that you will not miss. I personally recommend mornings because these times are usually the easiest to get away from others, your phone is less likely to ring or beep or play a tune, and you will be able to think about what you learn in this time for the rest of the day. If you pick evenings, you have less time to meditate on your study before you fall asleep and your mind is cleared for the next day. But, there is no command here, just a suggestion.
Once you pick your time, pick a place. You are foolish to pick the living room, in front of the TV, for your quiet time. You will not be able to focus. Find a spot where you can have some privacy. Commit yourself to being in that spot at the time you decide to be there. Pick a place with enough light to read, enough privacy to keep you from being interrupted every 30 seconds, and not so comfortable that you fall asleep too easily.
Gather the right materials to have a quiet time. You need a Bible that you can read and study well. I’d suggest a notebook to write down thoughts, questions, and observations that you make. Have a place to sit and a surface to write on if you can.
Have a plan. What will you do in your quiet time? At minimum, you should pray for God to help you, read some Scripture, think about what you have read, and spend more time in prayer. (How to pick a passage will be the subject of a future post.)
So, imagine that you are ready for your quiet time. You go to your place with your Bible, notebook, and pen (coffee is an optional treat). When you sit down, you pray a short prayer (1 to 2 minutes) asking God to open your eyes to his word. Then you read through a passage like Psalm 139. As you read, write down things that catch your attention. You might notice things like the following:
v4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You might write: Wow. God knows my words before I even speak them. He knows me more than anyone else. What an amazing God! What a frightening thought.
v7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
You might write: God is everywhere. I cannot run away from him. He is always with me. This comforts me.
Once you have read what you intend to read, take time to pray through what you have seen. Praise God for his knowledge. Praise God for his being ever present. Thank God for being with you. Confess how sinful you know that he must know you are because he knows your thoughts. Pray that he will be with you as you go to a hard place. Thank him that he does not leave his people alone. (This reading and praying might only take you 5 minutes, but could grow to lasting a long time.)
You can add to your prayers over the passage prayers that you pray daily. Perhaps you have prayer requests that you are committed to lifting up such as the ISalt Bulgaria team or your friend’s salvation. (Prayer topics will be the focus of a future post.)
There is much more that you can do with a daily quiet time. You might work on memorizing Scripture. You might read through a part of a good book or devotional. You might listen to a sermon or podcast. You might sing alone or along with some good Christian worship music. There is great freedom here.
While it is hard to come home from a powerful week of worship and study, it will be much easier if you integrate the discipline of a good quiet time into your life. Prayer and bible reading are crucial to your health as a Christian. Your strength will grow as you intentionally make time to spend with your Lord in his word and in his presence.
I’d love to hear your comments and questions here. What are you doing in your quiet times that I did not mention? What questions do you have about a quiet time?
Pastor Travis Peterson 