The Quiet Time
My evangelical corner of the church has been very keen on
the “Quiet Time” as long as I can remember. This is a daily period of Bible
reading and extemporary prayer. The morning is often recommended. Perhaps 20
minutes would be considered devout. A prayer list or diary might be used. Likely
there might be some notes: Scripture Union Daily Bread or Every Day With Jesus,
when I was younger, or Explore in my current circles. Or perhaps Search The
Scriptures or Carson’s, For the Love of God. A reading plan such as McCheyene's
might be followed.
This quiet time might be a little Bible study. Perhaps the
aim is to receive a particular blessing. Is there something here I can hold on
to and take into the day? The more diligent may jot down a note. If it is thought
about, likely there is a conscious desire to know and love God better and for
personal holiness, for a closer walk with Jesus and a changed heart and life.
The aim may even to be to meet Jesus in the Scriptures!
I wonder if anyone has seen any work or done any thinking about
the spirituality and culture formed by the Quiet Time? And how might this
compare to the Daily Office?
The Daily Office
This is the pattern of Morning and Evening Prayer which
clergy are required to provide in their parishes. How many do so and how many
people gather with them is hard to say. A significant regular congregation in
the parish church morning and evening would be very unusual, I imagine. It may
of course be supplemented by other devotional practices. Some could be saying Morning
and Evening Prayer in the church *and* having their own quiet time at home, but
my sense is that this would probably be unusual.
There will be quite a lot of repetition in the Daily Office.
It is basically Bible readings and prayers. Depending on how it is done, there
would be some kind of introduction, one or more Psalms and canticles, an Old
Testament reading, a New Testament reading, probably a mix of extemporary and
set prayers (perhaps using a cycle or list of topics etc.) for the world and
the church, the Collect, the Lord’s Prayer and a blessing or ending. There may
be times of silence for reflection on the readings and for personal prayer.
(The Book of Common Prayer and Common Worship forms can easily
be seen on the Church of England website).
Comparisons
Practice varies so much it is hard to generalise but:
The twice a day nature of Morning and Evening Prayer must
make a difference, especially if a deliberate attempt is made to make the two
services different. For example, Morning Prayer might focus more on
intercessions; evening prayer might involve more confession, thanksgiving and
quiet or prayer for individuals. If the evangelical is to include different
elements, likely they come in one main Quiet Time, perhaps with a handy mnemonic
such as ACTS to encourage different types of prayer – adoration, confession,
thanksgiving and supplication.
Evangelicals certainly commend habit but the aim of having a
quiet time each morning is rather different from advertising Morning and
Evening Prayer on the church notice board for 8am and 5:30pm. This may be a help
to getting it done, but it may also feel like a treadmill and a tyranny. One
issue is how well routine and spirituality cohere and this may vary from person
to person.
The evangelical might typically focus more on understanding
and or feeling. There is more of an emphasis, likely, on engaging with the
Bible rather than simply saying Morning and Evening Prayer. Probably there is
more likely to be some kind of explanation or study aid alongside the text in
the Quiet Time. In the Daily Office the texts likely stand alone and must speak
for themselves or not. How much time is spent thinking and praying about them
will vary.
Probably the Quiet Time has more flexibility and spontaneity.
Ringing the changes might even be recommended whereas some especially value the
unchanging nature of the Daily Office. Think of C. S. Lewis’ claim that changing
the liturgy gets in the way of praying it as we cope with the novelty.
Depending on the Bible reading scheme, the Daily Office
probably contains significantly more scripture from a variety of places and
leads to some bible memorisation (e.g. of the Benedictus and Magnificat, which
would often be said every day).
The Daily Office is in principle more communal and ecumenical.
Many (not just my own local church or tribe or chums) will be saying these same
words, reading these same passages.
The Daily Office has something or a public, representative
and parochial spirit to it. The Quiet Time is likely to be much more personal,
individualistic or private. The focus may be more on me and my family and our
local church’s concerns / missionaries we have chosen to support.
The Daily Office probably engages much more with the church
year.
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