DAY 35 QUIET TIME

Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

When we stop and truly pray, can we quiet our minds? Can we think about pure things? We may start out well intentioned, but the longer we pray, we tend to lose focus. Why? There are 7 1/4 Billion cellphones active on planet earth, with over 300 million currently active in the USA. 120 million personal computers were sold in 2017, 19 million MACS. 1.4 Billion homes have at least 1 TV in them. In 2014 - 840 million people accessed a Tablet of some sort. Social media? Over a 100 Million instagram users and 2.27 Billion Facebook users. Every where we go, you will find someone with their head down and focused on their phone, walk into a restaurant or into someones home and you will find a television on.

We are constantly engaging in technology. There are some great uses for technology and it can be a powerful tool for ministry, after all I am typing this blog on my MAC laptop. But, we need to shut it down and actually have conversations with people and quiet our minds so we can actually pray. In my uneducated psychological opinion, I feel that part of the rise in ADD and ADHD is due to technology. Our brains become over stimulated. We get instant answers and think that we can require God to answer our prayers the same way. As Christians, we are in desperate need of a daily quiet time. A time when we shut everything off and focus on God. We need to find a secluded place, at home preferably. With out distractions, technology, phone, traffic, even from family members, true silence (which makes us uncomfortable).

This is an appointment that should be set between you and God. Reading Gods word, meditating on it and having a conversation with God (that means listening to Him too). All of us need a time of quiet, even Jesus did.

Matthew 26:36

Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Mark 1:35

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

Luke 5:16

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

It doesn’t matter how long, but it should be focused and long enough to pray and to meditate on anything that the Holy Spirit brings to mind. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you, this is a very rewarding time with our Heavenly Father. We must get the busyness of our lives cleaned up. Opening time to be in His presence. As you do this though, don't get caught up in what a large portion of our society has. That is the thought of meditation from a Eastern religion perspective, “clearing your mind” by concentrating on repetitious chants, words or certain sounds repeatedly. If we do that we are actually opening the door for the devils influence. As we slow down, we should ALWAYS use scripture as our point of mediation.

I repeat: Philippians 4:8

If you want the peace of God and want to please Him, fill your mind with scripture. As we have quiet time with the Lord, it should actually be a time of transformation by the renewing of our minds, not through “emptying” them, as the world would tell you.

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

I challenge you to shut down the technology and set a specific time each day to spend in prayer and meditation.

Prayed for you all this morning!

Have a great day!

Much love and Blessings, Pastor Scott

Scott MorrisonFebruary 4, 2024