In a world filled with constant noise and distractions, finding moments of stillness and spiritual connection is essential for nurturing our faith and strengthening the bonds within our families.
In this lesson 51: quiet time and family devotion, we will delve into the significance of carving out sacred moments for quiet reflection and spiritual growth within our homes.
We will explore the profound impact that dedicated family devotion can have on the spiritual well-being of each family member and the collective spirit of the household.
Lesson 51: Quiet Time And Family Devotion
As soon as a child is born into the world, his need A of breath becomes evident. Shortly afterward, he cries, expressing his desire for water and, later, for food.
His need of love is taken care of by the welcoming 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 to 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 of observing such a time in a corporate manner with other members of the family also shortly registers in his mind. He later learns that such times of personal prayer and study are referred to (by believers) as Quiet Time.
THE PRIORITY OF QUIET TIME
The need for the practice of individual Quiet Time and family devotion cannot be over-emphasized. Two reasons stand out (among many) for this.
First, God wants man to be in fellowship with him (Jeremiah 33:3; Genesis 3:9; John 1:14; 4:13; Micah 6:8). Sin made man to lose this privilege, but Christ came to open the way (John 1:14; 14:6).
God calls us to meet with Him every day. Reciprocal gratitude demands that we should respond and not be like those about whom He had to say.
“I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me (Jeremiah 35:14b).
Secondly, we need the means of growth Bible reading and prayer (1 Peter 2:2). A Christian can no more grow spiritually without spiritual food than he can grow physically without physical food. Like a garden of flowers, God’s friendship needs careful cultivation and this demands consistency.
THE PLACE AND TIME OF QUIET TIME (2 Chronicles 2:4; Psalm 55:17; 88:13; Mark 1:35; Matthew 6:6)
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 chapter sixteen verse twenty-one, 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 61:8; 86:3). Paul prayed and was renewed in the inner man (obviously by the 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 (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.
Besides the fact that the mind is fresh, it is unwise for a partaker in a concert to start tuning his instrument after the ‘show’ has started or when it is over. Early rising helps immeasurably in getting the best from study and prayer (Genesis 28:18; Exodus 29:39,42 30:7; Psalm 5:3; 59:16; 63:1).
Also, one needs a place characterized by seclusion, quietness, and freedom from distraction to have the best from this gracious exercise.
We can get all these from our present places of abode by rising early to read, meditate on the word of God and then pray. The Lord presents a challenge to us in the gospel record. His disciples were with Him, yet “He was alone praying” (Luke 9:18). We can shut off the distraction of people, events, and things to concentrate on prayer and study.
THE CENTRALITY OF THE BIBLE (Proverbs 13:13; Job 23:12; Col. 3:16; Luke 4:4)
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 man’s past, present, and future than any other book, its design is not just to show light but to show it as a pointer to salvation, obtainable through Christ Jesus (Psalm 27:1a; 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 Christ-purchased, the focus of the entire Bible is centered upon the Saviour (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
Beyond the sacred page, I need Thee Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word.
To understand God’s revelation in the Scripture, we must come with open minds, surrendered wills, and faith to believe.
It is wisdom for the ignorant to acknowledge his situation before God, and only such will be made wiser (Proverbs 9:9; Luke 10:21). Individuals who are wise “in their own conceits” languish in continued blindness and spiritual impoverishment (John 9:41).
Then, we must approach God’s word with a readiness to comply with whatever He is asking us to do. We must, like Christ, be willing to say, “Not my will but thine be done” and in this prove our love for Him (John 14:21).
Thirdly, those parts we cannot with the intellect comprehend, we must, with faith, believe. We must deliberately choose to believe the word we are reading and “hold the faithfulness of God” as a missionary preferred to render Mark 11:22. We account that God is faithful to all His promises. We must commence the walk of faith (and grow in the same) by hearing (and reading) the word of God (Romans 10:17).
We should constantly study the Bible with the aim of having our lives transformed into the likeness of Christ (John 8:31; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
We should be primarily preoccupied with what God has to say to us. Helpful questions to ask oneself while studying the Bible include: what does the passage say? What does it mean? And how does it apply to me? We should not seek far-fetched interpretations for simple, easily comprehensible passages.
We should be careful not to constantly search the scriptures during our Quiet Time for sermons to preach to others but rather for personal application. We must seek out from study passages, examples to follow, commands to obey, errors to avoid, imperfections to forsake and promises to claim.
Other aids to fruitful study include the use of helpful books such as balanced commentaries, Bible atlas, and concordance. It also helps to keep records of lessons in notebooks and memorize scriptures on regular basis.
Character, books and topical studies have their places and advantages but in all, we all must seek to have God speak to us as individuals.
PRIMACY OF PRAYER IN QUIET TIME AND FAMILY DEVOTION (Daniel 6:10; Psalm 55. 17; Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46; Luke 6:12).
Prayer is complimentary to Bible study in the practice of Quiet Time. For our Bible study to be meaningful and effective, our prayer too should be conditioned and molded by God’s self-revelation in the Bible.
God has taken the first step in reconciling man to Himself. Man needs to respond in reciprocal appreciation (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 also pray because we love God.
Prayer is one of our offensive weapons against the enemy. Prayer 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. We may often find it necessary to breathe a prayer or two in the process of meditative study.
Daily prayer should contain the following: Worship, Thanksgiving, Intercession, Supplication, and Commitment. We worship and adore the Lord for who He is. It is a measure of our appreciation of His personality.
There is this story of a new resident in a locality who faced a big disappointment the first day that he came to the village and hand-pumped well to fetch water.
Being unaware of the old well’s habits, he came only with an empty bucket and left with the same after many futile pumping efforts. Shortly afterward, an old woman came to the pump with an empty bucket and a small water-filled jug. She poured the water down the pump and worked the handle up and down.
The water first gurgled and then rushed, filling her bucket and jug to the brim. The well pump needed priming. The man who came with nothing to give went away empty. The story is the same with seekers at the Throne of grace.
Those who come with something to give of worship, praise and thanksgiving (like the woman with an “alabaster box of precious ointment” (Luke 7:36- 38,48) go away filled. Those who come empty-handed go empty-handed.
We should express our gratitude for all God’s past mercies received even when we still have a long chain of apparent yet unmet needs (Luke 17:12-19; I 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), and Epaphras for the Colossians (Colossians 4:12). Then we should supplicate for our personal needs, great and small.
Finally, we should commit all our activities for the day unto Him, asking Him to be “Lord of all”. Let us note the order of answer- guaranteeing prayer – “Jesus (God) first, yourself last, and others in-between”. This is the secret of JOY in His presence every day.
FAMILY DEVOTION
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), and 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). Job also was a man of family devotion.
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 whereby the members have time to sing songs/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 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 with heaven, then we cannot do without patterning our lives according to all that we have learned today with respect to communion with God.
Personal Questions
1. Give two major reasons why believers need to observe Quiet Time and family devotion.
2. a) What should characterize the venue for individual Quiet Time? b) Why is the morning time best for personal/family devotion?
3. With what attitude should we study the Bible?
4. What are the major activities that constitute a rich Quiet Time?
5. Why is family devotion essential in the family?
6. What should be our aim as we constantly study our Bible during Quiet Time?
Conclusion
As we conclude Lesson 51, we are reminded of the timeless importance of Quiet Time and Family Devotion in nurturing our spiritual lives and fortifying the bonds of love within our families. In a fast-paced world, where distractions abound, these practices serve as vital anchors that ground us in our faith and bring us closer together as a family.
We’ve explored the profound impact of setting aside sacred moments for reflection, prayer, and the study of spiritual texts.
These moments not only deepen our individual connections with the Divine but also strengthen the spiritual fabric of our families. They provide a space for open dialogue, the sharing of values, and the cultivation of virtues that shape the character of our children and ourselves.
