The document discusses the importance of having a daily quiet time with God. It recommends rising early in the morning to minimize distractions and interruptions. Having a set time, such as 30-60 minutes, allows a person to regularly fellowship with God through Bible reading and prayer. It also helps one gain strength for the day and execute God's commands. The document provides tips for preparing for quiet time, such as changing locations, selecting a quiet place, and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. Establishing a consistent daily time prevents issues like laziness, legalism, and inconsistency in one's spiritual life.

1. Quiet time with God

2. Quiet time with God
Quiet time
With god
By
G John thimothy
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3. Quiet time with God
Quiet Time with God
Copyright © 2010 by G John Thimothy
All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or any other –
except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior
permission of the publishers.
Cover designing by Johns George and Kiran Paul
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About the Author
G John Thimothy was born and
brought up in Nellore district of
Andhra Pradesh. He completed His
B.Tech in Electronics and
Communications.
He was born again in the year 1989
at an Evangelistic Union Camp held at
Bhimili, Andhra Pradesh. He was
baptized at a local assembly in Sriharipuram, Vizag.
Later he moved to Chennai and is working as a
software engineer. He married K. Mahala Nissi and is
blessed with two daughters Abigail Thimothy and
Rebeccah Thimothy.
He resides at Arumbakkam, Chennai and is in
continuous fellowship with Nungambakkam Christian
Assembly.
He wrote books on Christian Hospitality, Kingdom of
Heaven. His third book is on Quiet time which gives a
quick start on Quiet time to students and graduates.
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Preface
This book contains edited and expanded transciptions
of the messages delivered by me at the Discipleship &
Leadership Training programes. These messages were
first spoken to a listening audience comprising of
college students and working professionals who are at
different stages and different locations in south India.
We tried to make this material as simple as possible.
We drew the outline and suggestions based on the
Scripture.
Bro. Kiran Paul K and Sis. Debbie Julius helped me in
editing and formatting to a book format. In sending
out these messages, our prayer is that it should
encourage and build every child of God and help them
in God's ministry
G John Thimothy
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Quiet time
With god
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Index
1. Introduction 3
2. Purpose of Quiet Time 6
3. Preparation for Quiet Time 10
4. Material for Quiet Time 23
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I. Introduction
"The men who have most fully illustrated Christ
in their characters, and have most powerfully
affected the world for Him, have been men who
spent so much time with God as to make it a
notable feature in their lives. . . . To be little with
God is to be little for God" (E.M.Bounds).
If we observe the lives of Godly people in the Bible and
out of the Bible, they all practiced early rising. We
don’t find the word "Quiet Time" but we see the word
"Early Morning" in the bible. Another term we use in
our daily life is "Morning Watch". The phrases in
Christian living "Early Rising", "Quiet Time" and
"Morning Watch" are one and the same. When we
observe the lives of Godly people we simply find out
that the secret of victorious Christian life is their Quiet
Time.
A Quiet Time is an unhurried time spent quietly in
Bible reading and prayer. As such, it is crucial to our
relationship with God.
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Quiet Time should always include Bible reading, but it
won't necessarily include in-depth Bible study.
So when meditating on Scripture, we need to be sure
to understand what the passage means before we
attempt to apply it to our life.
Godly people who practiced Quiet Time: In Bible
we find God’s servants rising up early in the morning.
Let us consider their examples.
Abraham—Genesis 19:27, 21:14, 22:3
Jacob— Genesis 28:18
Moses—Exodus 8:20; 9:13, 24:4, 34:4
Joshua—Joshua 3:1; 6:12, 7:16, 8:10
Gideon—Judges 6:38
Hannah—1 Samuel 1:19
Samuel—1 Samuel 15:12
David—1 Samuel 17:20
Job—Job 1:5
Mary—Luke 24:22, Mark 16:9, John 20:1
The apostles—Acts 5:21
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Jesus Christ rose up early in the morning: While
it was still night, He went away to a desert place to
pray (Mark 1:35). When He wanted to appoint the
twelve apostles, He called them to Himself early in the
morning (Luke 6:13). If our Lord had to rise up early
to do these things, how much more do we need to rise
up early. There are many servants of God who are not
mentioned in the Bible like George Muller,
John Wesley, Bakht Singh and many others who rose
up early in the morning to spend time with God and
they emphasized on early rising to their congregation
as well. "And Abraham woke up early in the
morning to the place where he stood before the
Lord" (Genesis 19:27).
We can see three great things in this verse
1. He got up early in the morning
2. He had a special place to meet God
3. He did it daily.
According to Galatians 3:29 "And if ye be Christ's, then
are ye Abraham's seed" we are sons of Abraham by
faith in Jesus Christ. Our father Abraham practiced
Quiet Time and our Saviour Lord Jesus Christ also
practiced it. We too need to have our "Quiet time"
every day without fail.
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II. Purpose of Quiet Time
The purpose of Quiet time is five fold
a) Fellowship with God: “ Let us get up early to the
vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the
tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth:
there will I give thee my loves.” (Song of Solomon
7:12). Early morning is the best time to fellowship
with the Lord. To have fellowship means to open up
our spirit and mind to God and allow Him to enlighten
us, impress us and touch us (Psalm 119:105,147).
During this time our hearts are drawn near to God and
we allow God near to our hearts. Lets give an
opportunity to God to talk to us.
It was said among the faithful Christians that if you
spend time properly with God, there is guarantee that
your relationship in other areas is proper. At a national
seminar for Christian teachers and workers, a survey
was taken where the question was asked, "What will
you be most ashamed of when you get to heaven, and
what will you wish you would have changed?" The
overwhelming response was, "My personal devotional
life." Have you ever floundered in your devotional life
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because you didn't have a regular time? You did a little
here and a little there, but it just didn't seem to work
out. This frustration is common, and it can be solved
by understanding two simple but powerful principles:
“timing and recording”.
b) To get strength for the day: Christian life is a
battle against the world, sin and devil. During day time
we wrestle against spiritual forces. Ephesians 6:12. We
need to rise up early in the morning to prepare
ourselves for the battle. An interesting point is as
Christian we fail to raise up early but the enemy is
always eager to rise up early and plan for the day to
attack Gods children.
Let us read this verse. “Wicked people rise in the
morning to deceive and to plan evil against the world.
He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the
morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him”. (Proverbs
27:14) and they rise in the morning to execute the
plans of the evil. “Woe to those who scheme iniquity,
who work out evil on their beds! When morning
comes, they do it, for it is in the power of their hands”.
(Micah 2:1).
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c) Requisite for Devotion: “At daybreak, Lord, You
hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to you
and watch expectantly” - (Psalm 5:3). “But I will sing
of your strength and will joyfully proclaim your faithful
love in the morning. For you have been a stronghold
for me, a refuge in my day of trouble” - (Psalm
59:16). “God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I
thirst for you; my body faints for You in a land that is
dry, desolate, and without water” - (Psalm 63:1). “But
I call to you for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer
meets you” - (Psalm 88:13). “Long for you in the
night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks you, for
when your judgments are [in] the land, the inhabitants
of the world will learn righteousness” - (Isaiah 26:9)
d) Executing Gods Commands: “And Abraham rose
up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took
two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and
clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and
went unto the place of which God had told him.“
(Genesis 22:3)
e) Discharge Daily Duties: She rises while it is still
night and provides food for her household and portions
for her servants. (Proverbs 31:15)
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III. Preparation for Quiet Time
1. Rise up early in the morning: Unless we are sick
or recommended by doctor not to rise up early, we
must rise up early morning. Set apart an hour or so to
meet the Lord. Only sick people need more rest. If we
are healthy and over-worked, then also we need to
practice early rising. Set a time early in the morning
say 4:30 am or 5:30 am. Consecrate that time for the
Lord. No other work should over come this time. This
practice may lead us to disciplined life.
2. Change your position: "And Abraham woke up
early in the morning to the place where he stood
before the Lord" (Genesis 19:27). Both Abraham and
Lord Jesus Christ had special place to meet God. To
meet God, Jesus Christ rose up early in the morning,
while it was still night. He went away to a desert place
to pray (Mark 1:35). So don’t stay on the bed after
you have woken up. At the appointed time get down
from the bed and kneel down or stand or sit aside, off
the bed.
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3. Selection of place: The place we select should not
distract our mind. It is Quiet time. We need to be
Quiet within and also the surrounding should be
Quiet. It is the time to know God. "Be still and know
that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). “Job's friends sat down
with Job for seven days and none spoke a word”
(Job 2:13). Let us have at least one hour a day with
much Quietness.
4. Cleanse your heart: Our heart deceives us a lot.
We need to ask Him to cleanse our heart. Ask Him to
break your spirit so that you are ready to gather
manna. “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken
spirit. "God, you will not despise a broken and
humbled heart". (Psalm 51:17)
5. Seek the leading, guidance and blessing of the
Holy Spirit in your Quiet time: Ask God for His
guidance and intervention in making us understand
what He has in store for us each day.
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Problems in Setting apart some time for God
Set a Definite Time: Once we’ve decided that
developing a friendship with God is a priority, setting a
definite time to develop that friendship is important.
The time we set becomes our standard. After it is
established and practiced, only then we can be flexible
with necessary changes. Make a definite time to meet
with the Lord, no matter whether it is morning, noon,
or night. I personally prefer it should be early hours
(say morning 4 am or 5 am at least minimum of 15
minutes). Setting a definite time enables us to avoid
several pitfalls. The pitfalls we avoid are
Laziness and Legalism: By being definite, we avoid
the pitfalls of laziness and legalism. People can quickly
fall into these two extremes. One extreme says,
"I know God loves me so much that He accepts me no
matter what I do." In other words, "I can be a little
lazy about what I do." On the other hand, some of us
are still so unsure about God's love for us that we are
working all the time to make sure God loves us. We
have become legalistic. We know this has happened
when we feel overly guilty if we miss one day with
Him.
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God said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love"
(Jer. 31:3). He will never love us more than He loves
us right this moment. His love for us and its certainty
is the only motivation that can change laziness and
legalism. Setting a regular, definite time will fan the
fire of that motivation.
Inconsistency: Establishing a definite time can also
help us avoid the pitfall of inconsistency. Being
inconsistent is probably the most common problem of
all. Having a set time in our schedule and working to
meet that schedule helps us to be consistent. When we
don't, the attitude soon becomes, "Well, I met with
Him a couple of times this week, and I will meet with
Him a couple of times next week." Before we know it,
we begin to miss entire weeks, and the warmth of our
relationship cools.
Interruptions: A set time can also help us avoid the
pitfall of interruptions. If we have set an appropriate
time, we won't run into those interruptions that spoil
our enjoyment of being with Him. How often have we
started reading our Bible or praying, and somebody
knocks on the door? Little Johnny comes in and says,
"Daddy, look at this bug I found!" or "Daddy, can you
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please come here and turn the light on for me?"
Murphy's Law applies in the spiritual dimension too.
If anything can interrupt your Quiet time with God, it
will. But we can avoid many of those interruptions if
we set the right time and the right place.
Not only are there external interruptions but internal
ones as well. For example, one of the biggest internal
interruptions is the nagging urge to clean up our
cluttered desk to clear up unfinished work. How many
times have we sat down to read the Scripture or pray
and noticed an unfinished letter, a newspaper, a
magazine, or a project? The next thing we know we've
used up all the time we planned to spend with the Lord
because we thought we should finish up one more little
thing. My wife is very practical when it comes to a
cluttered desk. She brings a big towel into our study
room and covers the desk. Then she is not distracted
by "to do" lists or unfinished projects staring her in the
face.
We need to set a time and choose a place where we
are least likely to be distracted by things we need to
do. Always anticipate interruptions. They will come and
destroy or dilute our time with God.
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Jesus met alone with God. Mark 1:35 tells us,
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark,
Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary
place, where He prayed." Jesus often went out to be
alone, but it was hard for Him to find solitude. He
sometimes had to get up long before everyone else,
because He was surrounded all the time by people and
their needs. David had set times for God (Ps. 5:3;
59:16). He also ordered to set times for praise and
thanksgiving at the temple (1 Chr. 23:28-32).
Being realistic: When we set a definite time to be
with God, we must be realistic about our schedule and
sleep needs. Then we must decide for ourselves the
best time to meet with God and set our schedule
accordingly. I say this for two reasons. Not only is it
the best time for us, but it becomes the best time we
have for God. It is time we are giving to Him, and we
want to give Him our best.
God knows when we have interruptions, important
meetings, deadlines, sick children, doctor
appointments. If we have only 10 minutes to give to
the Lord, most of us will say, "I can't get anything out
of 10 minutes," so we don't spend any time at all. This
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is the root of the problem. Rather than seeing time
with God as moments with a friend, we see it as time
during which we accomplish something only for
ourselves. We need to give those minutes, rather than
say, "I can't get anything."
If we gain this attitude, the quantity will begin to rise
to its own level of importance. The more I love my
wife, the more time I want to spend with her. The
more you grow in your love for God, by using the
many short moments you have to express that love,
the more your time with Him will grow. You will want
to spend more time with Him and not do it simply
because you feel an obligation.
We will not deepen our relationship with the Lord, of
course, if we take only 10 minutes each day. We need
longer times as well. Yet, the more often we give to
Him the short, tight times, the easier it is to give Him
longer times. It is when we keep that definite time
with the Lord that the longer, less frequent times
become more meaningful. Please don't misunderstand.
Be careful to take as much time as you can, but do it
with a heart that wants to be there.
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Keep the Same Time Each Day: The second
principle of timing is that once you've set a definite
time, keep that time the same. It is much better if we
will set a time and keep that time the same every day
than to set one time on Monday, another time on
Wednesday, and another time on Friday. Unless your
schedule demands that, and sometimes it may, set a
standard time at the same hour daily. There is a very
good reason for this.
Our minds work in patterns and structure. When we
start doing something at a set time every day sitting
down at our desks, or going to work, or getting on a
plane-our minds go into a gear or a channel. We begin
to function and produce according to the mind-set we
develop for that time. We are creatures of habit. Thus,
having the same time for meeting with God will move
us into spiritual gear. Our minds will be receptive for
spiritual things at that time.
Now for those whose schedule changes frequently, or
whose work-shift changes from time to time,
consistency of time becomes harder. But God in His
grace knows what responsibilities He has given us. He
knows the circumstances He has allowed in our lives.
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And He will help us adjust to meet that situation.
It should always be the goal, though, to have a
pattern whenever possible; because that is the way
the mind works best.
Spend Enough Time: The third principle of timing
relates to the question of how much time we spend.
Because meeting with God is a love friendship, the
length of the time is inconsequential. If you're in love
with someone, you don't count the minutes, except for
the minutes you can't be with him or her. Yet, what is
crucial is spending enough time to accomplish our
purpose.
Accomplishing our purpose: If I were engaged to
be married and could be with my fiancee only 5
minutes a day, I wouldn't be accomplishing much
toward building a deep friendship. So we need to be
sure that the time we spend is enough to accomplish
our goals for that time. Ten minutes a day is probably
not sufficient to achieve any meaningful goal. Twenty
or thirty minutes is a minimum for getting our minds
in a receptive gear, thinking through what we have
gained, and then making it work in our lives. There is
one exception to this principle. If you are starting
devotions for the first time, start with a minimum of
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10 minutes and build a habit. Then stretch it to 20 or
30 as soon as possible. Simply give God all you've got.
But strive for enough time to accomplish your goals for
meeting with Him.
Multiplying your time: One other question often
arises regarding the time we meet with God. We are
often tempted to think that we don't have the time to
spare. The opposite is true, however, because it will
save us time. Proverbs 10:27 says, "The fear of the
Lord adds length to life." The Living Bible translates
this same verse, "Reverence for God adds hours to
each day." Experience bears this out. Martin Luther
used to say that he had so much to do in a day that he
couldn't afford not to spend at least 4 hours in prayer.
He discovered the truth that time spent with God is
never misused, only multiplied. This is true because
God sharpens our minds, calms our fears, strengthens
our memories, and enables us to do our work more
efficiently. A person in tune with God will always be
effective in his work. The inner peace, which time with
God gives, enables us to do more quality work with
more energy left over at the end of each day. Time
spent with God always yields time for yourself. The
more you give, the more you receive.
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Avoiding the problem of habit: An important
benefit of having a set time for God is that it helps to
avoid the problem of habit. This may sound
contradictory, but read on. Time with God does not
always have to be 50 percent reading the Bible and 50
percent praying, or 75 percent this and 25 percent
that. We're creatures of habit and we generally like
things to be set and predictable. Now habits can be
helpful, but they can also be hazardous. They can be
harmful because we can begin to dig roots so deep
that they keep us from becoming flexible with what
the Spirit of God may be impressing us to do.
There may come a time when the Spirit of God says,
"Study that passage a little longer, because there are
some truths I really want you to learn." Or He may
say, "Spend your whole time today studying the
Scriptures. It's more important to me that you
understand this truth. I plan for you to use it soon." Or
He may say, "There is someone I want to put on your
heart. Don't stop praying because it's 6:50. I want you
to pray the whole time because this person needs your
prayers." We need flexibility and willingness to bend
our habits within the time we have set. If we find
ourselves doing the same thing every day, we should
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try a change and be ready for an urging from the Spirit
of God. Having a set time will help produce sensitivity
to the Spirit because of the consistency. A sporadic
time will more easily lead to ruts, because we try to
pick up where we left off and often find ourselves
covering the same ground.
Try to prevent your Quiet time from becoming
mechanical. Have same time every day. Pray on the
verses. Mix Prayer, devotion, praise Together. Learn to
pray out of the scripture passage rather than being the
same every day. Use the word as basis for praise and
petition.
Top 3 questions to ask when you read a passage
Observation, Interpretation, Application
1) Observation - What are the common words used.
What can be the title of this passage? Who is writing?
Whom it is written to? When it was written?
2) Interpretation - What does the passage mean in
the context? Why is it written here?
3) Application - Is there anything I can learn from
this?. How can i practically use it?
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IV. Material for Quiet Time
a. Bible: In Quiet time we need to have a bible with
us. It is better to have a separate bible for quiet time
which we don’t take for Bible study or regular studies,
which is not underlined. Early morning is the time to
gather manna. The gathered manna will be eaten in
day time. So, gather the word of God early in the
morning. Read a small portion. Don’t read too much.
It is good to have a short passage each day. Repeat
the reading on these verses only. While repeating the
study you can mix reading with prayer, singing and
praising.
b. Prayer: Let the prayer be prayer on the verses.
Then the life of the verses will get into us. This is
anointing. Which will be helpful throughout the day
time travel in this world. If the reading brings a sin in
us to light, lets confess it. If we feel someone lacking
in that area, bring them to the presence of God and
have an intercessor for them. Lets not blame them.
But confess their sins before the presence of God.
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Note: ACTS Principle
Adoration - Psalm 96:5
Confession - Psalm 32:5
Thanks giving - Philippians 4:6
Supplication.
c. Note Book and Pen: It is to note down all the key
thoughts of the passage with a theme for it. We can
also fill the notes at late night after God led us through
the day by the word of God. In the morning the
notebook may contain promise of God, sins we
confessed, any key word found, any example to follow
etc. Lets try to spend more time on God and His
characteristics rather than writing notes.
A Quiet time record is simply a written journal of your
daily Quiet time with the Lord. Our record needn't be
fancy or complicated. A simple notebook will do.
1. For greater retention, consistency, and
accountability recording our thoughts each day helps
us retain what we have learned. It also develops
greater consistency in our Quiet times, and holds us
accountable to the truths the Lord has taught us.
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2. Your Quiet time gives you principles to reflect on
each day through the daily Bible input. As that occurs,
God has a greater opportunity to change and enrich
your life as a result of your reading and meditation.
3. For increased analytical and organizational skills
learning to identify key truths from Bible passages
sharpens your discernment and helps you organize
your thinking.
4. For tracking personal growth as you record the
things God impresses on your heart, over a period of
time you'll often see trends in how He's dealing with
you in key areas of your personal growth.
5. For sharing with others as you continue to meditate
on the Word, you'll build a reservoir of biblical truth
from which to draw in dealing with others. Often the
Lord will direct someone to you who needs to hear the
very truth you've discovered that day.
6. As you read a portion of Scripture, you may want to
make notations in the text for future reference. Some
common notations include using brackets around
important phrases, circles around repeated words or
phrases, lines in the margin, or underlining or
highlighting what impresses you.
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7. Read the portion several times, looking for the key
thoughts or principles. Often the verbs (words showing
action) are the keys to unlocking the meaning of the
text.
8. Complete your Quiet Time Record as follows:
Date: Record the current date of your reading.
Today's Reading: Record the reference for the day's
reading.
Initial Observations: Record the key thoughts or
principles you observe in the text.
Appropriate Applications: List some ways you can
apply the principles you've observed. Keep in mind the
importance of understanding what the text really
means before attempting to apply it to your life. If in
doubt, do further study or apply principles you're sure
of.
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By not practicing it may lead to
a. Poverty: How long will you stay in bed, you
slacker? When will you get up from your sleep? A little
sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to
rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your
need, like a bandit. (Proverbs 6:9-11)
b. Defeated life: Wicked people also practice the
early rising. They do for planning deceitful weapons
against us. If we fail to practice we will be defeated by
them. If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice
early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse to
him. (Proverbs 27:11) Woe to those who dream up
wickedness and prepare evil [plans] on their beds! At
morning light they accomplish it because the power is
in their hands. (Micah 2:1)
c. Regular Practicing Shows spiritual maturity:
Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour
for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is
nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly
over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the
deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
(Romans 13:11, 12)
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Review Questions?
a. What is the major secret of a successful Christian
life?
b. Give 3 good lessons that we can learn from the life
of Abraham regarding Quiet time.
c. Give 5 fold purpose of Quiet time.
d. List 5 hints to remember in preparing for Quiet
time.
e. What lesson about Quiet time do we learn from
Psalm 46:10
f. Name three things to take with you regarding Quiet
time.
g. Describe the division of time in your private Quiet
time.
i. How can we prevent our prayer from being the same
every day?
j. What do you find to be the greatest hindrance to our
Quiet time?
k. Is there any warning for us for not practising a
regular Quiet time?
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Other book by the Author
1. Kraisthava Aaadhithamu in Telugu
2. paraloka Raajyamu (4 volumes) in Telugu
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