Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A.

AAs and those in most recovery programs are urged to involve themselves in "prayer and meditation." But what does that mean? Does it mean acquiring and taking a look at the hundreds of "meditation" books that have been marketed over the past decade or so? Does it mean looking at a verse or a thought for the day or a packaged prayer? Those questions are best answered in this book about how early AAs observed what they then called "Quiet Time." This idea had been popular in the 1800's, the YMCA, United Christian Endeavor, among evangelists, and later in the Oxford Group. It took on different names--Morning Watch, Quiet Hour, Quiet Time. But not "meditation." This phrase appeared on the scene in the 1939 A.A. program. And the Big Book provides few materials that tell one how to "pray" or how to "meditate." Some have opined that prayer is talking to God, while meditation is listening to God. But this self-made religious idea neither squares with early A.A. practices nor with the Bible. Instead, Quiet Hour had some well-defined suggestions about how to observe the time. First, it was clear that the time was meant to involve Bible study, prayer, seeking God's guidance, reading of religious literature, and then obeying God's directions. Second, there were suggestions as to how and where this was to be done. There were suggestions about relaxing, getting a quiet place, setting aside a specific time, and so on. This practice was not embedded in concrete. For people observed a Quiet Time when it seemed appropriate or convenient. Dr. Bob had observed it while in Christian Endeavor as a youngster. When A.A. began, Dr. Bob would retire upstairs three times a day for about 20 minutes. At that time, he would study a favorite Bible segment, pray, ask for God's guidance, and then "go about his Father's business," as he put it. Dr. Bob's wife Anne Smith conducted a morning quiet time each day at the Smith Home in Akron. She gathered AAs and their families in the early morning hours. She would open the session with prayer, then would read from the Bible, and join the group in prayer or seeking guidance. This was often followed by her sharing from her spiritual journal and conducting a discussion about it. On the East Coast, Rev. Sam Shoemaker had frequently spelled out how he observed Quiet Time. He recommended several books that told how to have a quiet time. Oxford Group writers did likewise. This book pulls it all together. It provides an excellent guide for you to do a quiet time that comes close to the principals and practices that produced such early A.A. success rates and cures. It will suggest where, how, and when. It will suggest the early A.A. devotionals and guides that were used. It will highlight the importance of the Bible and prayer. It will cover "guidance." And it will provide you with a number of practical suggestions. It is a healthy and welcome alternative to the many secular "meditation" and "reflection" books still in circulation, but which provide little help to those who are seeking, in early terms, to "practice the presence of God." This book is a simple, authoritative guide for individuals and groups to use in establishing and observing a special time with God each day. And on Christian terms! Read more