Today, we're pleased to share with you an audio essay written and read by Kevin DeYoung,

entitled, On the crushing guilt of failing at quiet time.

Kevin DeYoung's new book is Impossible Christianity,

why following Jesus does not mean you have to change the world, be an expert in everything,

accept spiritual failure, and feel miserable pretty much all the time.

On the crushing guilt of failing at quiet time, written and read by Kevin D. Young.

I first began my habit of daily devotions when I was in high school.

A couple of my friends at school were serious Christians, and they talked about spending time in their Bibles every morning before school.

That wasn't something I was doing at the time, but it sounded like a good idea.

My motives were somewhat mixed.

I was motivated to pray every day that God would bless my running and that I would

meet my goal of being all-county JV. I spent a few minutes in prayer each day and read one

chapter in the Bible along with a daily reading from a simple devotional book. It took only

five to ten minutes, but it was a massive catalyst in helping me grow as a Christian.

Once in college, my faith grew like a weed, which is the right phrase, because although there was a lot of good going on in my spiritual life, there were also species of pride growing up

at the same time. I was especially festidious about my quiet time. I almost never missed a day,

sometimes trudging through snow to get to

my school's prayer chapel, often fighting to stay awake during prayer because I was a college student

after all and I stayed up way too late. Many of my quiet times ended up really quiet. Nevertheless,

I read through the Bible several times. I kept a prayer journal. I was, compared to most of my peers, a quiet time champion, but I also felt terrible if I ever missed a day. I knew intellectually that I wasn't earning God's favor, but in my heart it felt like I was only a good Christian once I read my chapters and prayed my prayers. Looking back, I can see that the Lord used my zeal in many good ways.

I can also see that there were more obvious biblical commands that I neglected so long as the quiet time box was checked every morning.

Meet any mature, fruitful Christian, and you can almost guarantee he regularly has something like a, quote-unquote, quiet time, a time set aside to talk to God in prayer and hear from God in the Word.

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