Mind Your PQTs

Mind Your PQTs

Camp is a wonderful place to grow spiritually. Daily chapel and Bible study keep the focus on God in the midst of the fun. The cabin is a central part of the camper’s spiritual experience. Each day, counselors use a prepared curriculum to share Bible studies with their cabin as a group, but another important part of the daily schedule is what some campers call “PQT” – Personal Quiet Time.

Campers have Personal Quiet Time – PQT

After breakfast and cabin clean up, the campers find a space – inside or outside – to spend time alone with God. Some use a devotional to guide that time. Some keep a journal, some read their Bibles, some pray. Some are not quite sure what to do…

If you’re anything like me, I can get distracted pretty easily, especially when I am doing something quiet and alone! God knows our weaknesses and our tendency to lose focus, and yet He still invites us to spend this time with Him each day. When Jesus walked this earth, He would steal away to spend time alone with His Father. As we are to live our lives modeled after Christ, how are we to do PQTs well? Here are a few guidelines to help us:

1. Focus on God’s Word. Devotional books can be a great tool when studying God’s Word, but they should not replace reading the Word itself. Prayerfully choose a book of the Bible and begin to work through it, even if you cover only a few verses a day. Some passages may have a loud, clear message that we can easily identify. Some passages may not be so clear. Persevere. Finish the book. God’s Word is complete, and He has something to say through the entirety of His Word, not just in certain verses.
2. Trust God to teach you. Sometimes we read a passage and are not sure what it means. We can ask God to help us understand what He is saying to us. The cry of the psalmist in Psalm 119:33-34 can be our own: “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes… Give me understanding, that I may observe your law, and keep it with all my heart.”
3. Keep it consistent. In Joshua 1:8, the Lord instructs us: “’This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.’” It’s not easy, but if God calls us to do it, He will also equip us to do it. Be realistic about when and how long you can read God’s Word each day. Then do it. Everyday. If you miss a day, pick it back up again the next day. Just as an athlete works his or her body to strengthen it and create “muscle memory” for his or her sport, we Christians hone our spiritual bodies through consistent practice.

So as our campers head to camp this summer, know that they will have PQT every morning. During your own PQT, pray for them – that they will keep focused on God and His Word, that He will teach them and give them understanding, and that they will remain consistent and walk with Him.

Lis (Waldron) Schuman and her husband, Eric, have four campers – two at Deer Run and two at Brookwoods. Lis and Eric were counselors in the mid-90s and since 2017 Lis has been serving as Camp Pastor of Deer Run and Eric as the BASIC Coordinator. In their non-camp lives, both Lis and Eric are Spanish teachers. Eric has been known to sing in Spanish if he is ever called up for “Sing Us a Song.” You can email Lis here.