Quiet Time with the Lord

He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. Matthew 14:23b

I have always read the bible, bible story books and devotions to my two boys. I play Hymns, Contemporary Christian and even some Christian Alternative and Hip Hop music for them. We pray together daily, I pray over them when they are sick and when a prayer request comes in we usually stop what we’re doing and pray. We go to church, they watch christian videos and we talk about God and his ways. These are all things I do with my children so they can come to know their Creator, Lord and Saviour in a very real way!! No matter how much I involve God in our lives I wonder if I am doing enough, are there things that I allow them to see, hear and do that I need to cut out, is there another way I can help my kids to grow in the Lord? Well, God recently answered my wonderings through a very good friend of mine. We were talking one day and she ask if they boys have quite times with the Lord by themselves and I had to admit they do not. I said that I had always planned on doing that but for some reason I hadn’t started it. She suggested I go ahead and I believed that this was confirmation from the Lord that I should start this immediately. I believe by making this a part of the boys life now (even though one of my boys isn’t even reading yet) it will help them to maintain a habit of having quite time with the Lord every day of their lives.

A couple of days before we started I explained what we would be doing and they seemed agreeable to it, of course even if they were not we would still be doing it =). The day we started it I told them that this was their time to be with the Lord by themselves, just them and their Creator, their Lord, their Saviour. They could read their bible, a devotion book, they could look at pictures from Christian inspired books, they could listen to stories from the bible, they could listen to Christian music (Hymns, Worship, etc), they can talk to Him, listen to Him and they can sketch pictures for Him and ones that are inspired by Him. This precious time is a part of their morning routine and for now it is only 10 minutes. When it is time to begin they choose what they will do during this time and where they will do it (ex. front or back porch, living room, etc.) and they go off and I set the timer. When the timer goes off I sometimes ask them what they read or why they sketched what they did or what they prayed about BUT I usually do not say anything. I want this to really become an intimate time for them with their Lord. I have been very pleased when they have come to me and shared what they have prayed or sketched, etc.. It makes my heart glad to see my boys knock and my Lord open the door to them!

I want to share that I do not believe just because this time will one day be “Habit” to them that they will grow in the Lord but I do believe that God has made us creatures of habit and that through DIVINE GRACE God can take our Habits and redeem them and bless us through them. I see a Habit such a ‘Quite Time with the Lord’ as a way for us to step out in Faith to seek God and His ways and I know that when that is our desire HE will bless us! I believe that for my boys this time will become a time of peace, a time to learn God’s voice, a time to learn to trust, a time of truly getting to know their God just as my Quite Time is to me! I truly believe that Habits are a tool that God gave us that can and will help us in every area of our life. So this is why I want my boys to have a HABIT of having a Quite Time with the Lord. I pray that if you or your children (no matter their age) aren’t having a Quite Time with the Lord that you begin today!! This HABIT can’t hurt you, it can only help you!!

Divine Grace works on the Lines of Human Effort.––In looking for a solution of this problem (Habit Training), I do not undervalue the Divine grace––far otherwise; but we do not always make enough of the fact that Divine grace is exerted on the lines of enlightened human effort; that the parent, for instance, who takes the trouble to understand what he is about in educating his child, deserves, and assuredly gets, support from above; ……….—Charlotte Mason Home School Series Vol 1

For amazing spiritual inspiration check out this blog, the author has wonderful post about prayer and spiritual disciplines that will really STIR UP your spirit!!

Rest In Him,

Angie