Quiet Time and Digging Deeper
Pretty often I am asked about how to do a quiet time. Typically the inquiry comes from someone that desires to go deeper in the Bible. They find that the resources are so plentiful that it requires a full time effort to figure out what is best. At this point, I become the phone a friend (as any pastor or church staff ought to be for such questions), to alleviate all the time it would take to sift through all of the options. I find myself giving a very similar response:
Understandable translation. We live in a time where many faithful translations exist. Finding the one translation that helps you understand God’s word better is key. I typically use the New American Standard Bible (NAS or NASB) because it is the closest transliteration of the original text. Other Bible translations that I suggest are the English Standard Version (ESV) and the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). Although there are many other great translations, I typically find these three the most comparable for people today.
Move away from devotionals. Many devotions start with a scripture and then tell you a heart tugging story. There is a place and time for inspiration and motivation through such story, but if you are trying to dig into a certain passage of the Bible then devotionals may not be the way to go. I typically tell people about commentaries, encyclopedias, lexicons, etc. Someone’s story about their dog doing something wonderful or even a human serving someone else may not help you understand that passage better. That type of story will warm your heart and motivate you. To dig further into the Bible, you need tools that will help you dig.
Grab a commentary. If the inquiry comes from a non seminary, non vocational ministry person then I will always suggest the Matthew Henry Commentary (volumes, concise, etc.). A great verse by verse commentary on the Bible is one of the greatest tools for people today. Other great commentaries for anyone learning the Bible would be Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown), The Bible Exposition Commentary by Warren Wiersbe, etc. Many more great, faithful and way deeper commentaries exist, but the previous are great to get you started. The best way to grow in your Bible is to actually read the Bible. In your quiet time, do not get distracted by all of the stories inspired by the text, spend your time understanding that text. Commentaries will help you understand that particular passage.
Journal thoughts. As an educator, I believe that writing thoughts down help you remember the thoughts. It is one thing to think but can you put it into words? If you have a thought concise enough for paper then you have a principle to guide you. Writing is the discipline to form your thoughts into something definable, measurable and “followable”.
In short, read much of the Bible, use a commentary to help you understand it and then write what you have learned. In the following day, apply the principles that you have learned from your quiet time.
