[Jesus] said to them,
“Come with me by yourselves
to a quiet place and get some rest.”
(Mark 6:31 NIV)
Jesus invites us into the quiet. He wants us to come away with him in the midst of our busy days. The day that Jesus beckoned his disciples, Mark recalls that so many people were coming and going that the disciples and Jesus had no time to eat.
Jesus knew what his disciples needed. And He knows what we need. He wants to connect with us. He longs to offer us the rest we so desperately need, both physically and spiritually.
If you have been following Jesus for very long or have been around church people, you have heard of “having a quiet time.” Today, I want to explore and answer the question of why? Why are we encouraged to have a quiet time? Why does it matter?
The first point that Pam Farrel makes in her book, 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, is that Jesus himself valued quiet time. She wonders aloud about the motivation of this sacred time we call quiet. She poses this question: “Why is it the right thing to do?”
She looks to Jesus’ life and notes three outcomes of Jesus’ time with the Father. (There are more, I’m sure, but these three are a place to start.)
Times that Jesus spent in God’s presence were instructional, relational and powerful.
Here are some insights, Scripture references and questions to ponder from the book:
Instructional:
Jesus knew the Scriptures. Once around age twelve, his parents found him listening and asking questions with the teachers at the temple. (Luke 2:41-47)
“time in the Word is like our physical skeleton, it is the framework on which our whole life is built.”
Relational:
Jesus listened to the Father. Before his ministry began, he spent forty days in the wilderness. “To discipline his heart to hear the voice of the Father. That’s why he knew how to handle Satan’s temptations.” (Luke 4:1-13)
“Like Jesus we need to communicate with the Father continually…”
Powerful:
Jesus’ power to raise Lazarus from the dead and to provide food for the crowds happen in conjunction with praying to the Father. (John 11:41-43, Mark 6:30-44, )
“Jesus wanted a connection. Before all the big moments of his earthly life, he connected to the Father.”
Ponder the following questions,
during a quiet moment today:
What motivates you to spend time with God? Why have you been having a quiet time?
(Italics are either paraphrased summaries or direct quotes from Pam Farrel’s book, 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time.)
©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com
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