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WHAT CAN BE WRONG WITH QUIET TIME?

“Now you are clean through the Word which I have spoken to you. (4) Abide in Me, and I in you”, John 15:3-4

There is a general idea that if one has a quiet time, goes to church regularly, prays a few times a day, gives grace at table, reads the Bible and is polite towards God, one is of golden value towards himself. I believe most of the time people spend reading the Bible and praying is unprofitable and non-producing. There are no apparent results coming from it many times. And today I just wondered what is wrong with so many Christians' quiet time, since a simple prayer can change a whole town and turn it upside down.

Many a hour is spent so people may feel “free” to live their own lives their own way after an enormous amount of time is politely spend with God – or at least so it is thought to have been spent. I solemnly believe that time spent in prayer is to achieve the opposite of it. I am fully convinced that time with God is there to enable us to live another Life after we hear something like “Shake yourself from the dust; rise up! Sit, Jerusalem!”, Is.52:2.

There is a time of cleansing and not necessarily from sin, for one can be cleansed from the chaff which brought the corn unto us, which one begets from being in touch with a lively Word of God, if the Lord indeed speaks it (for I believe most Bible reading is not blessed by God at all). One may be cleansed from a dubious way, from a vain idea, from a misleading, from sinning, from a seed towards any sin which is still not bred, from a seed to do something which is not sinful in itself but happens to be something which is not God's will at all for us at a certain time or circumstance. The greatest mistake, however, is that people believe almost unconsciously they have prayed so it may be turned easy for them, to calm down conscience or even to be able to get a blessing for a own idea of life which they desire after and seems not unholy at all. Many believe they can now go and live as they know best since they have prayed and gone to church, or whatever silly stilling idea they have nurtured to convince themselves through.

To abide in Christ is the goal of all we do in private. We become cleansed or are made able to maintain a cleansed state of heart and soul, a sober mind in the Lord, during a well spent time with God. Nevertheless, we read in John 15 that the word we hear in secret has to remain with us naturally and right through, in public as well. Many forget about it, thinking it comes for knowledge purposes alone, and not for living purposes afterwards. But, Christ will remain with us in spotlessness alone. Hence, the words “Now you are clean through the Word which I have spoken to you, (now) abide in Me”, “Go…”.

Quite often, during these last days, these words emerged from my heart into my deepest sense, knowing God was speaking: “Without Me you can do nothing”. It is to be understood that once one is clean (for real), one will never be able to do anything without Christ any longer. A worldly heart may be fully able to conceive and even breed ideas upon ideas, conduct upon conduct and still live on with it, having not God. It cannot work that way with someone who is clean, as clean as Christ alone is able to turn us into. Any genuine Christian, a living and a lively one, is always unable to live on, to do things, to be blessed the old way and without Christ leading, counseling, intervening, daring, pushing into, getting us away from, blessing or even instigating us to do and to will as He does.

Sin will keep us surely away from a sound presence of Christ (not a sin convincing presence only). If we abide in Him, if we achieve that after rising up from quiet time and prayer (one which will enable us to abide), it is able to keep us right through in normal living (which alone is God's will) and by that Christ will remain with us as well. “If you will fear Jehovah, and serve Him, and listen to His voice, and not rebel against the command of Jehovah, then both you and also the king who reigns over you shall continue following your God”. 1Sam.12:14.

To stay in Him, to be in Him right through, will make it possible for Him to stay with us. We read, “Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal: … "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity!" 2Tim.2:19. Let everyone find a quiet time which enables one to remain in Christ afterwards so Christ may remain in us also, so He may remain to walk on holiness and not merely to convince of sin. The goal of all is to be able and fully capacitated to walk with Christ as He is, in this world and not in heaven afterwards alone, and not to have Christ bought off towards our living as we knew it by having quiet time . If you know Christ,  know Him to walk, in a walkable fashion, and depart from all iniquity because you happen to know and be called by His name, Saviour from all sins. Amen.

José Mateus

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