Time with God

By Stephen Eyre
IVP. 203 pages. £4.99
ISBN 0 85110 886 5

This little book is intended to be of practical help with our 'quiet times'. The author recognises that our busy lives are filled with the pressures of a secular world, and we need the vital discipline of spending time in the presence of God if our minds and hearts are to be re-orientated and refreshed by him.

Advice is given on the practicalities of setting aside time; it is good to see counsel on proper use of the Lord's Day - this can provide opportunity for extended times of devotion. There are encouragements to Bible study, and practical advice on prayer, including fasting and journalling. In discussing prayer lists, the opposite errors of disorganisation and dry duty are exposed. Each chapter closes with a quiet time to help us on.

There is positive emphasis throughout on the experiential: seeking the Lord with fresh desire, and enjoying his presence. There is also realism about 'desert phrases' and the variability of our feelings. However, sometimes I wondered if emotions were allowed too large a part; there was a repeated emphasis on 'feeling' the presence of God, and the author constantly seemed to be measuring the emotional temperature in his quiet times.

No instruction on worship or confession is given as it is suggested these will happen 'naturally' as the Lord meets you (p. 40). This seems to be a different approach to the structured guidance of the Lord's prayer, and the helpful objectivity of structured praise and thanksgiving focused on the person and works of God is missed.

There is some good material here, but I have found other books more helpful such as Derek Prime's Practical Prayer or the old classic of MacIntyre The Hidden Life of Prayer (both Christian Focus Publications).

Bill James,

Emmanuel Evangelical Church, Leamington Spa