Abundant LIFE Lessons

Abundant LIFE Lessons

Track 1 –Essentials to Christian Living

Lesson #6 – A Daily Quiet Time

Objective – This lesson is designed to help and encourage the Christian to develop a daily personal quiet time with God.

Format – The format is an individual daily exercise of reading and answering questions concluding with a weekly discussion in a LIFEgroup setting. (There is no reading or questions for Sunday.) The LIFEgroup leader will take role and keep track of the disciple’s progress and faithfulness. Each disciple must recite the scripture memory to the LIFEgroup leader at the LIFEgroup meeting. Those who complete each track will receive a Certificate of Completion at an awards ceremony on a weekend service.

Note – It may be a wise investment to hole-punch the left hand side of the lessons and organize them in a three-ring binder. Write questions in the margins during your devotional time to ask at LIFEgroup. Take notes during discussions for future reference so you can use them when you disciple another new believer in the future.

Scripture Memory

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God? ” (Psalm 42:1–2)

Day #1Reading

Being a Christian does not mean that you have merely chosen a religious ideology that fits your tastes; being a Christian is about having a relationship with God, the Creator, through Jesus Christ. God desires a relationship with each of us. He created the human race that we might fellowship with him. After the fall of man, he provided a means to restore our fellowship broken by sin. He offered His only begotten Son on a cross as payment for our sin debt to restore that relationship. This week’s lesson will deal with developing our relationship with God through a personal quiet time.

A personal daily quiet time with God, sometimes referred to as “devotions,” is important for our spiritual growth. As the cliché suggests, “nearness is likeness.” God does not want to reduce our lives to a system of rules; he wants us to know Him, love Him and glorify Him with our lives. But this means taking the necessary measures to insure a daily quiet time with God. It will not happen on its own. The tyranny of the urgent will fight for that time. Even Jesus, the Son of God, found it important and necessary to spend daily quiet time with the Father. Consider this passage: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus)went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. ” (Mark 1:35)

Looking at the model of Jesus, we can remember three words to help us secure this time with God: priority, solitary and expectancy. Jesus’ example shows us that it was enough of a priority, even for Him, that He got up early before daylight, to have this time with the Father. Secondly, we see he left the presence of others and got alone—went to a solitary place—with the Father. Lastly, He prayed! He was expecting to commune with the Father. He was expecting to hear from Him.

Day #1 Questions

What is the objective of God’s plan of salvation?
Why is it important to have “devotions?”
What does the word priority remind us to do in reference to Jesus’ example?
What does the word solitary remind us to do in reference to Jesus’ example?
What does the word expectancy remind us to do in reference to Jesus’ example?

Write out your Scripture Memory

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Day #2 Reading

A personal quiet time with God is a time of personal worship. Look up and read John 4:23-24. The context of the passage shows us that worshiping God in spirit means that we are not limiting God to a particular geographic location or a particular style or method of worship. Rather, it is spiritual communion based on the person of Jesus Christ. To worship in truth means we are worshiping on the basis of what is accurate about the person and nature of God. We’ve already considered the Bible in a previous lesson and we learned that it is the inspired and inerrant word of God. Since we learn truth from the Bible, we can understand that when we read the Bible, we are hearing from God about what pleases and what displeases Him; what is accurate and inaccurate about Him. In other words, we don’t read the Bible just for information; we read it to hear from God that we might know Him and His will for our lives. We have a personal quiet time that includes Bible reading so that we may worship God in spirit and in truth. Let me suggest a few thoughts about how to read and study the Bible in your quiet time with God.

It’s best to read consistently and systematically so that you are exposed to all of God’s word in context over a period of time. (Joshua 1:8; Acts 20:27)

HINT: It might be wise to begin reading in John or Proverbs or read through the New Testament.

Ask God to open your understanding before you begin (read Psalm 119:18)
Read to hear from God, personally. Don’t use this time to develop a lesson or sermon. (Habakkuk 2:1; Psalm 119:9-11)
Resolve to obey whatever it is that God reveals to you. (John 14:15 & 15:14)
Always read the Bible in context and use clear teaching from God’s word to interpret difficult or obscure passages. (2 Peter 1:20)
As you read, always ask these four questions about the passage:
Who is speaking?
To whom is the writer speaking?
What is the topic or subject of the passage?
When was the passage written?
Always ask yourself, what did God tell me and how can I do what he told me, specifically? (Psalm 119:30,33-34)

Day #2 Questions

We are to worship God in spirit and in what?
When we read the Bible in a personal quiet time, we do so for what purpose?

Write out your Scripture Memory

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Day #3 Reading

When we read the Bible, we hear from God. When we pray, we talk to God. We will learn about prayer in depth in a later lesson. But for this lesson, it is only necessary to know that God wants to hear from us. He desires to commune with us in prayer. Our prayer time will affect the rest of our day. It is more important than we may realize. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Martin Luther said of his prayer time: “If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith.” Samuel Chadwick, in his book, The Path of Prayer, said, “Though a man shall have all knowledge about prayer, and though he understands all mysteries about prayer, unless he prays, he will never learn to pray.” So, let’s look at some thoughts about prayer that will help us communicate with God, effectively, in our personal time with Him.

First, we must remember to whom we are praying. Look up and read Luke 11:2. Next, we must understand that we are coming before God’s throne in the name of Jesus, not our own name. We have no merit of our own that warrants us the right to ask anything of God. Look up and read, Hebrews 4:14-16. In the name of Jesus we can come boldly, or confidently, before His throne. Another thing we must remember is to have a clean heart. When we sin, it is not our relationship that is in jeopardy; it is our fellowship with God that needs to be addressed. Look up and read the following passages of Scripture, Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:13; James 5:16 and 1 John 1:9. Finally, it is important that we pray according to the known will of God. While it is true we cannot possibly know everything about God or His will in every circumstance, we can know His desire in the basic matters of life. Look up and read Luke 11 again. Read from verse one to verse four. Tomorrow, we will look at some other aspects of prayer concerning our quiet time with God.

Day #3 Questions

Explain why prayer is an important part of our quiet time with God?
When we pray, we pray to the Father in whose name (authority)?
What did Martin Luther mean in his above statement about prayer?

Write out your Scripture Memory

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Day #4 Reading

Prayer is the way we keep the lines of communication open with God. Yesterday we looked at several aspects of prayer that concern us in the matter of a personal quiet time with God. Today, we will look at some thoughts on how to implement prayer into our quiet time. One of the most universally taught prayer methods is the ACTS method. ACTS is an acronym that expresses progressive steps in prayer.

A stands for Adoration. When we pray, we should not approach God in a tactical manner that seeks to get our way with Him. We should approach God in a manner that expresses our desire to have a relationship with Him. Adoration is a time to adore God for who He is. We will study the person of God in a later lesson, but consider some thoughts about God for the purpose of adoration. God is omniscient; He knows everything. God is omnipotent; He is all powerful. God is omnipresent; He is everywhere and in every time. God is immutable; He never changes. God is eternal; He always has been and always will be. God is Sovereign; He is in control of every aspect of this universe.

C stands for Confession. Yesterday, we considered that we needed to have a clean heart before God would listen to our prayers. Confession is the way God has given to clean our hearts when it has been defiled by sin. Confession means to agree with God. In other words, we must agree with God’s assessment of our actions and thoughts that have offended Him and forsake them as sin. Further, we must acknowledge his provision in the work of Christ as the means of our cleansing. (1 John 1:9)

T stands for Thanksgiving. It is important to name the things God has given us and done for us as He brings them to our minds. We should count our blessings one by one and thank God for each of them. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

S stands for Supplication. Supplication, sometimes called petition, is asking God to meet the needs of others and of ourselves. We are told to prayer for civic and spiritual leaders, for wisdom, for provisions, for the salvation of others. The word pray literally means to ask. (1 Peter 2:1-4; James 1:5; 5:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Day #4 Questions

What is the Acronym that teaches us one method of prayer?
Explain confession and why it is an important part of our quiet time with God.

Write out your Scripture Memory

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Day #5 Reading

The goal of a personal quiet time is not to check off a Bible reading schedule or prayer list. It is a time to connect and commune with God. He reminds us to “Be still, and know that I am God… ” (Psalm 46:10). Part of our quiet time experience with God needs to be reflective and meditative. In other words, we need muse on the things God has shown us in his word. We need to chew on those things, like a cow chews its cud. That process is called rumination or as it is expressed in the Bible, meditation. When we are still and meditative we are thinking on what God is saying to us, what we are going to say to Him and how we are going to assimilate and apply the truths He reveals to us. How we think about God and about life is determined largely by our meditations. Philippians 4:6-8 teaches us some important things about our thinkingand how it affects our living. Look up and read the following verses about meditation.

“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide…” (Genesis 24:63);

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. ” (Joshua 1:8)

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. ” (Psalm 1:2)

“I will meditate in thy precepts, And have respect unto thy ways.” (Psalm 119:15)

“My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; And I will meditate in thy statutes.” (Psalm 119:48)

O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. ” (Psalm 119:97)

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.” (Psalm 143:5)

Day #5 Questions

How is meditation like a cow that chews its cud?
What is the purpose of meditation?
How is our relationship with God affected by our meditation?

Write out your Scripture Memory

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Day #6 Reading

So far we have discovered the importance of a daily walk or personal quiet time or a time of devotion. Each of these terms is synonymous. We looked at the importance of hearing from God by reading the Bible and talking to God through prayer as the means of communication with God. Further, we discovered how meditation plays a key part in our quiet time with God. There is another tool that is helpful in developing your time with God; keeping a diary or journal. Journaling is a way of recording the truths, insights and questions from your time of reading and praying. It is also a means of expressing your prayers through the medium of writing. Writing helps us to organize and articulate our thoughts. It also provides a way of recording and tracking how God is working in our life and reflecting on our growth. You can use a journal to form a prayer list and record answers to specific prayer requests. You can use it to write out Scripture passages you are memorizing and meditating upon. Here are a few hints for journaling.

Buy a journal that is attractive to you. There are a variety of formats and mediums people use. You can buy composition notebooks often for just $1. There are more expensive leather bound journals. There are loose-leaf journals and ones with snaps and tie strings. Some people even use a word processor on their computer. Find what works for you and use it, consistently.

Log the date and time of each entry for reflection and analysis at a later time.

Record the address of the passage of scripture you are reading that particular day.

Record truths, insights, inspirational promises, questions or reproofs of sin that God gives to you.

Record prayer requests and answers to prayer by designating a few pages in the back of the journal for that purpose.

Use different pen colors, highlighters or even draw pictures in your journal if it helps you connect with God and his vision for your life.

Write out Scripture passages for meditation and memorization.

Day #6 Question– Explain why a journal is helpful in developing your quiet time?

Write out your Scripture Memory

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