Dave greeted me in the hall one Wednesday night and asked if I had a few minutes to talk. After a full evening of teaching, I thought about asking him to call me in the morning. But there are times when schedules must be changed. I sensed that this was one of them. His casual manner was masking anxiety.
It had recently dawned on Dave that throughout his life he had been experiencing his relationship with God through other people. He had always hoped that knowing God through others would be enough. And in the past it had been.
Now all that was changing. God was calling Dave to know him face to face. I knew it was my role to open up a spiritual door. So we spent some quiet time together. Dave gave over his wife, daughter, work, church activities and business to the Lord. Dave’s secondhand experience became a personal embrace of love between God and his son. If I had merely given Dave a pep talk on Christian commitment and sent him on his way, I don’t think that the meeting or the divine surrender would have taken place. But in the quiet, he was able to make a life-changing personal commitment.
Quiet Times for Discipleship
A couple of years into student ministry, it dawned on me that my focus was off. Working with college students, I taught Bible study skills, evangelism, leadership development, small group dynamics and apologetics. But something was wrong. God was an assumed presence, not the focus of ministry.
I wondered if quiet times might address my concern with focus. So I invited a student named Ned to meet me in the student union. We both had our Bibles and notepads. Before we began, we agreed not to talk until our half hour was over. We read Scripture, prayed and then cultivated an attitude of listening silence. In the beginning I considered it my responsibility to make this quiet time work. I was the discipler, and Ned was the disciple. Shortly into the quiet time, however, I realized that Jesus was the discipler, not I.
After that experience with Ned, I began to invite several students each semester to have quiet times with me. Most of these were spiritually powerful experiences. But some quiet time discipling produced a negative reaction. I learned that I needed to identify and invite those who were hungry for a personal encounter with the Lord.
When we use quiet times as a discipling tool, we function as a spiritual guide while those to whom we minister grow in discernment. For a semester, the student leadership team at a university in the South met weekly to share a group quiet time. They called themselves a “listening team.” Each quiet time session was opened with the question, “Lord, how do you want us to serve you?” Over the course of the semester, members of the group sensed that they were being led to evangelism.
As the “leader” in the group, I was not the source of vision. Members of the group “heard” from the Lord, not me. On the other hand, I was more than an appendage. My role was to begin by calling us to the Lord, and in our discussions afterward to help us measure our perceptions against the background of Scripture and sound doctrine. The Christian leader facilitates discerning what the Lord is doing so that the group can respond and follow him.
Our church’s monthly leadership meetings occasionally use a brief quiet time. When our direction is not clear or when there is sharp disagreement, we may spend time in silence. During this quiet time, we give over our concerns to the Lord and seek to listen for his direction. Afterward, we debrief. This discernment process has gotten us through impasses and a few tense conflicts.
Using quiet time as a discipling tool rescues us from an unhealthy dependence on technique and methods. Ours is a technique-oriented culture, and it is natural for us to adopt a technique approach to ministry. However, quiet time takes the focus off technique. The Lord is the one we expect to direct us and bless our efforts. When we base our ministry in quiet time, the issue becomes not how to do it, but Who is doing it.
Using quiet time as a discipling tool rescues spiritually hungry hearts from false activism. Occasionally someone comes to me with a desire to do more for the Lord. But doing things for God is not an acceptable substitute for cultivating a personal relationship with him. I suggest that the most important thing to do for the Lord is get to know him better through quiet time. The individual who is established in meeting with God is in a position to do ministry.
Quiet times can open doors to evangelism.In response to the inevitable question, “How do I know that there really is a God?” my response is, “Ask him; he’ll tell you himself.” I instruct potential converts to set aside some time to explore the possibility of knowing God. They begin by just speaking into the air and asking God to make himself known. Then I tell them to read one of the Gospels and keep a journal of their thoughts about God for a week or two. Finally they are to keep their eyes open for “God-incidents,” those “coincidental” circumstances that let us know that someone is working in the events of our lives.
Among those who accept my challenge, the conversion rate is high. In a follow-up meeting I find that most have already given their lives to the Lord or are looking forward to praying a prayer of commitment with me. Those who come into the Christian faith in this way know for certain that Jesus is here and that he can communicate with them. Since they began their spiritual life through a meeting with God, the continuation of a regular quiet time is entirely natural.
Means
Encouraging people to spend time with God is one of the most strategic things we can do. What would the church of Jesus Christ be like if a majority of Christians had quiet times each week? How can we go about cultivating a quiet time ministry?
It is important to encourage quiet times by sharing a quiet time. Beginners may read the Bible and pray without any expectation of a personal encounter with God. They may not be able to settle inwardly enough to cultivate the sense of quiet so necessary for a quiet time. When they are guided by someone who is familiar with quiet time, they acquire a taste for it.
For most people, an early-morning quiet time is best. Many people can only meet before work. Will, Carl, Todd and I met together for a year each Friday morning from 6:00 to 7:00 in a lounge at church. We finished by 7:00 so that they were able to get to work on time. Their Friday quiet times spilled over to the rest of the week. Todd started having quiet times with his wife. Carl started getting to work early and shutting the door for half an hour for his quiet time.
Discipling by means of a quiet time is an exciting, revolutionary action. Moses asked Pharaoh to let Israel go into the desert for three days to worship God. Pharaoh was not amused, and the battle began. By means of a quiet time we follow Moses, inviting people to come out from the world to meet God in the desert.
In quiet times as a means of discipleship we invite God back into the center of our lives. As we practice quiet time we come to know him as the One who is here, Immanuel—God with us.
Guided Quiet Time
The Final Meal with Christ (John 13:1–5)
As you read these verses, you are entering into a sacred experience. You will be standing on holy ground. Jesus is going to die, and he is spending his last moments with those who have been most dear to him on earth. Every word that comes out of his mouth during this final conversation will be remembered, thought about and meditated upon by those who hear them. Every action will be relived in the minds of those who have loved and followed him.
Often, people who know that they are dying withdraw into themselves. Their pain, loss, grief and fear are all-consuming. But Jesus continued to love. He wanted his followers to know that they were loved, and he demonstrated this love freely in word and action.
As one who loves Jesus, enter into this holy moment. Look. Listen. Feel. Prepare yourself to experience in a new way “the full extent of his love.”
Approach
Jesus wants you to know his love. What words or ideas come to mind when you think of the love of God?
How would you evaluate your sense of the Lord’s love? Consider whether you need to understand and know God’s love more in your head or in your heart—or both.
Study
- After reading John 13:1–5 for background, focus on verse 1. What does Jesus know, and what light does it cast on the impending events?
- The impending events take place against the background of the Passover. Look up the following verses in Exodus and summarize them in your own words: Exodus 12:12–13, 21–23, 29–30.
- How do these verses from Exodus help you understand what Jesus was facing?
- As he writes about upcoming events, John does not mention that Jesus is about to be crucified. Why not?
Reflect
- What might Jesus feel as he faces his disciples and the future?
- We have all said goodby to loved ones. Recall some of your most difficult goodbys. Write down the names of those you were separated from and some of the thoughts and feelings you experienced.
- Imagine that you are about to finish your time in this world and return to your heavenly Father. What concerns do you have?
Pray
Pray that God would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you might know him better.
Ask God to bless your friendship with fellow Christians, that you might grow in love for each other.
[Taken from day 1 of Abiding in Christ’s Love by Stephen D. and Jacalyn Eyre, InterVarsity Press, 1994.]
Eyre, S. D.
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