TIME WELL SPENT:
A Practical Guide to Daily Devotions
By Colin Webster. Paternoster Press. 134 pages. £5.99
ISBN 1 89893 873 3
In this book, Colin Webster aims to introduce new Christians to the practice of daily devotions.
He assumes little. The old evangelical cliche 'quiet time' is defined and 'eight good reasons for having a quiet time' are suggested. Then follows the heart of the book: 60 pages of solid and sensible help. This includes practical advice on starting quiet times, what goes into a quiet time, approaching Bible study, using prayer lists, and coping with common problems. There is a helpful chapter of 'tips to try out'. All the way through, the author writes not as an expert but a fellow-traveller. His honesty is winning, his enthusiasm for the Lord infectious. What he says about preparing to meet God at the start of a quiet time would repay careful re-reading for those whose personal Bible study has become wooden.
A particularly interesting feature is chapter 12 - 'Other people's devotions'. Three people - a retired missionary, a sales manager and the mother of a disabled child - explain how they arrange their personal times of prayer and Bible reading. The book then concludes with six daily studies to enable the reader to try out the pattern suggested previously.
In an area where it is all too easy to be forbidding, faddish or predictable, Colin Webster has produced a helpful entry-level guide. In conjunction with some help on how to interpret the Bible, this would make an excellent primer for new believers - and a real tonic for many older Christians also.
