Transforming My Quiet Time
Incorporating daily liturgy transformed my quiet time into a time of purposeful daily worship that I treasure.
I prayed this prayer from Augustine yesterday during my quiet time:
You, Lord, have become my hope, my comfort, my strength, my all! In you does my soul rejoice. The darkness vanished from before my eyes, and I beheld you, the sun of righteousness. When I loved darkness, I knew you not, but wandered on from night to night. But you led me out of that blindness; you took me by the hand and called me to yourself, and now I can thank you, and your mighty voice which has penetrated to my inmost heart.
Reciting prayers of early Christians may seem dull, but it sparked in me things to pray for and things to praise God for. Augustine’s prayer oriented my mind on what Christ accomplished for me on the cross and how He brought me from death to life.
I was joining in agreement with my brothers and sisters in Christ past and present who have experienced this transformation.
It reminds me the opening of Hebrews 12:1 that says “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.”
Augustine’s prayer was part of a liturgical guide (currently using Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship by Jonathan Gibson) that includes a call to worship, adoration, reading of the law, confession of sin (it offers a prayer, but I also recommend specific personal confession, assurance of pardon (another scripture passage), reciting a creed (today it was the Apostle’s Creed), praise (usually the Gloria Patri), Catechism (currently reciting portions of the Heidelberg Catechism), a prayer for illumination before reading God’s word, scripture reading using the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan, a prayer of intercession, further petition (praying for personal prayer requests, family members, my church, and nation) and ending praying the Lord’s prayer.
All of this - prayer, scripture, creed, and catechism - helps me each day to look to Jesus as I run the race that is set before me, (Hebrews 12:2).
I wish I could say I’ve always been consistent in having a quiet time and that it has always been deep. That would be a lie. I’ve had periods where it has been dry and I’ve neglected it (and it showed in my life). Adding liturgy and structure to my quiet time has transformed it to a time of daily worship I treasure and look forward to when I wake up.
If you feel you’ve plateaued in your time with the Lord, I encourage you to try it.