Developing a habit of a daily quiet time is a struggle for many believers, but appears easier for others, even those with full schedules. Either way, it takes discipline.

William Wilberforce lamented that his busy schedule sometimes resulted in an inadequate spiritual life when he had “but a hurried half hour in the morning to myself.” The demands on his time, he felt, required far more nourishment for his soul through prayer and Scripture reading so he looked forward to periods of slower pace to refuel.  In 1802 he remarked, “Surely in the summer recess [of Parliament] I ought to read Scripture an hour or two every day, besides prayer, devotional reading, and meditation. God will prosper me better if I wait on Him.” History would support that statement.

When I read how great saints spent long hours in prayer, though, it’s easy to get discouraged.

I was comforted to learn that the discipline of daily quiet time wasn’t always easy, even for the superstars, despite their best intentions. Charles Simeon, for example, was known to rise at 4 a.m.and spend the first 4 hours of the day in prayer and study. There were occasions, though, when he overslept, especially on winter mornings. “He once decided to pay a fine of half a crown to his college servant when he overslept. A few days later, lying comfortably in bed, he re-considered this plan. His next decision was that when he overslept he would throw a guinea into the river. This, apparently, he did, but only once — before deciding that he could not afford to pave the river-bed with gold.” [Randall, Ian M. What a Friend We Have in Jesus: The Evangelical Tradition. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2005.pp 78-79.]

Whether paying his servant or paving the river-bed, Simeon’s discipline of persevering in daily prayer and study revealed the heart of a man whose treasure was in heaven.