I had read this statement by Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for His Highest many, many years ago, and it changed the way I thought about and attended to my quiet time in the scriptures. I came across it again recently and want to share it with you. Perhaps it may impact you as it did me.
Your god may be your little Christian habit―the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, 'I can't do that right now; this is my time alone with God.' No, this is your time alone with your habit.
I know that prayer and Bible reading are essential to faith building, and I don't think Chambers is downplaying a regular, routine time for it, but rather asking us to consider why we're doing it. I had a tendency to being tied to my routine instead of being tied to the Savior. I was easily annoyed and out of sorts when my schedule was upset or my attention was required someplace else, like caring for my children or answering the phone when someone needed to talk. I had God boxed in on my schedule, and when I missed "my quiet time with God," I felt undone. Not meaning to be irreverent, but I didn't get my fix that day.
God used Chambers' words to cause me to consider my ways and my thinking. I realized that my quiet time had been more about me than about God. My worship wasn't to be tied to my little quiet time corner. God is bigger than that, and my communion with him needed to enlarge as well, wherever and whenever that might be.
Painting ~ Reading in An Interior, Carl Holsoe 1863-1935
