I Don't Have A "Quiet Time" Anymore

Most Christian men have been handed one format for engaging scripture: find a quiet place, open your Bible, pray alone. But what if that's not the only legitimate way or even the best way for how God wired many men? In this episode, Tim explores midrash, the ancient Jewish practice of wrestling with scripture in community. From the temple courts to the road to Emmaus to Paul reasoning in the marketplace, the Bible is full of men engaging the Word together, out loud, with conflict and questions welcome. If your quiet time is producing information but not transformation, this episode might reframe the problem.

Episode 46 of the Elder My City, with Tim Schmoyer podcast, hosted by Schmoyer Media, titled "I Don't Have A "Quiet Time" Anymore" was published on March 13, 2026 and runs 23 minutes.

March 13, 2026 ·23m · Elder My City, with Tim Schmoyer

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Summary

Episode Description

Most of us inherited one model for spiritual growth: a quiet room, a Bible, and solitude. It works for some people. Tim's wife has a prayer closet that proves it.

But for many men, that format produces obligation more than transformation. In this episode, Tim makes the case that scripture never required solitude — and that the primary way God-fearing men have always engaged the Word looks a lot more like a wrestling match than a meditation.

Topics covered in this episode:

Why Tim doesn't have a traditional quiet time and what he does instead
What the Hebrew word darash reveals about how scripture was meant to be engaged
How midrash functioned in Jewish life and why it wasn't a fringe practice
Where you see it throughout the Gospels — from a 12-year-old Jesus in the temple to two grieving disciples on a road to Emmaus
How Paul's ministry was built on public reasoning and dialogue, not monologue
What 15 years of midrashing with men in Cincinnati has actually produced
Why the format difference between Tim and his wife points to something important about how men come alive in the Word

If your engagement with scripture has felt more like a discipline to endure than a fire to tend, this episode is for you.

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