I first started having a consistent daily quiet time when I was 14. After growing up in a Christian private school, I began homeschooling the summer after eighth grade. With the extra free time and separation from some bad influences, a desire and passion for the Word of God grew in my heart. I spent at least an hour (sometimes more) in the Scriptures every day. I bought my own study Bible and read every single note on the passage I was studying. I filled page upon page with observations and notes in my various journals. I learned, and grew, and flourished exponentially during this time.
Of course, this season did not last forever. As I got a job and started taking college classes, I no longer had the extra time to be in God’s Word for so long. I grew tired of reading through every single study note, and I felt like I wasn’t learning enough to add anything to my journals. I spent many months in a dry spiritual valley, and I felt guilty because of it! I thought I wasn’t a good Christian because I wasn’t walking away from my quiet time every day with some new spiritual insight.
Perhaps you can relate. Sometime in the past you’ve struggled with guilt over your quiet time. Maybe you’re struggling with this guilt right now! If so, Naomi Vacaro’s new book, Quiet, was written just for you.
Naomi has had her share of struggles with her quiet time – whether it was during her childhood as a missionary kid in Mongolia, when she moved to the US as a young adult, when she got married to her husband, or when she became a mother for the first time. Like all of us, her struggles left her feeling guilty. But over time she realized that she needed to start viewing her quiet time differently – as a grace-based discipline. What exactly does this look like? Naomi writes,
“Having a quiet time that’s built on grace means your Bible will still be available to read tomorrow morning even if you don’t get back on track with your quiet time. It means God doesn’t keep a tally of all the days, weeks, and months you’ve failed to spend time with him. It means there will be seasons when coming to Jesus is more difficult – and he delights in you anyway. It means that yesterday’s failure does not diminish today’s opportunity to know and enjoy Jesus.”[1]
We will fail in our quiet times. We will struggle with sin. We will never be good enough on our own. But Jesus has graciously saved and redeemed us, which means we can show grace to ourselves during our quiet times. Sure, there will be days when we don’t feel like having a quiet time, when we dread cracking open our copy of God’s Word. But when we make our quiet time into a habit or discipline and show ourselves a little grace, it will quickly become a delight. A quiet time is more than just a thing to do; it’s a way of life-
“A quiet time is so much more than something to check off a daily to-do list. During quiet time, we are meant to surrender our lives to Jesus so we can be with him, learn from him, and follow him when our ‘official’ time with him is over. Following Christ is not something to pigeonhole in a particular part of our day but a lifestyle of devotion that’s meant to consume our entire lives.”[2]
Reflecting on her personal quiet time experiences, Naomi explains to her readers why and how we should regularly read the Bible and pray to our Father in heaven. She practically shows how we can submit to the Holy Spirit, focus on God’s Word throughout the day, and get out of our quiet time ruts. She acknowledges that our quiet times will look different in different seasons of life and that having a solid and supportive community around us can help us during these transitions. Sticking with a quiet time is so important because it affects every area of our lives. We may not feel like or want to read our Bibles and pray every day, but we have to remember that our quiet times are not about us-
“This is what having a quiet time is all about: knowing Jesus, loving Jesus, and enjoying Jesus.”[3]
I loved Naomi’s book, Quiet! Reading the Bible daily is obviously something I’m very passionate about, so I always love to read books that preach this message. I’ve actually met Naomi in real life (we live in the same city!), and I loved hearing more of her story. This book is so practical and encouraging, and it includes reflection questions at the end of each chapter, a list of recommended resources at the back of the book, and quiet time stories dispersed throughout the book from members of the Wholehearted Quiet Time community (including mine on page 171!). If you struggle with quiet time guilt or you’ve never had a daily quiet time before, this book is a must read for you!
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[1] Naomi Vacaro, Quiet: Creating Grace-Based Rhythms for Spending Time with Jesus (Carol Stream: Tyndale Momentum, 2022), 8.
[2] Ibid., 220.
[3] Ibid., 229.
