On Communing: Every Breath

I recently heard the term "quiet time". Which I think is quite a common concept among bible study groups. It's used to describe certain periods in the day where you pray, read the bible and commune with God. A lot of people choose to do this when they have just woken up, and before they go to bed. It seems a lovely way to make sure God is prioritised in our lives; first setting out the day before him, then talking with him about how it went.

I can understand why it was cautioned that this approach isn't for everyone. I personally have some trouble with it. Having never got on with education - I'd say my reaction to academia is at best allergic - I can't help but draw parallels between the two. While we were discussing Quiet time someone asked if there was a danger of pigeonholing God, and I felt this was the one of the most important questions a Christian can ask.

Am I putting God in a box, ready for me to open when 10pm comes around and I reluctantly sit down to swill through its contents? God can not just be a part of my life I indulge, but the literal reason for the creation, breath-by-breath sustaining and eternal consequence of it. Some Christians talk about trying to be thankful for every single breath, and I like that ethos. It reminds me that God isn't a passive observer, watching my day from his window until I knock on the door with anecdotes about the things I've done. He is quite literally infusing my body with life. Every minute of the day I take a dozen breaths, and each one comes from his active effort to keep me alive. If I once thought that I was supporting myself and God was just someone to be thankful to, I now begin to understand that the very act of living, existing, is down to his constant hand on my back.

The realisation that God is giving me my every breath is awe-inspiring. That's probably why I like it. The perception of God as a distant person casual to my daily drama simply isn't compatible with it. It would be better to imagine that person constantly, and for my entire life, applying CPR. If I'm dying, God is the doctor who stubbornly compresses my heart and gives rescue breaths.

The more I relate to God as the complete sustainer of life, the more difficulty I have with the idea of scheduling him into quiet time. Like walking through the park with someone but not saying a word until you get home and write a report. If I understand God at all, he would prefer a constant loving babble to an official daily appointment. A new parent doesn't care how their children talk to them, as long as they always talk. Often in life the relationships we care for most are constant, and the ones we are apathetic to have to be scheduled.

I need quiet time to read the bible. At the moment I'm not strong enough to read it much in public places, and I need silence to concentrate on it's words. It's nice to sit down and pray after a tiring day, going over what I could have done better and what I'm thankful for. It's also nice to talk to God continually throughout the day, mulling over decisions with him and asking for his advice. He is there as my constant guide, for all the doubts I have about life, I am beginning to see he has none.