Today's post comes from Anita at Scattering the Stones
‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place
and get some rest.’
Mark 6:31 NIV
Are you aware of God’s voice throughout the day, or is the noise surrounding you drowning out His voice?
Silence can mean many things to different people; some love it, while others fear it, some fight against it. I am sure that it is no co-incidence that the level of noise has increased, as the separation between God’s ways and the world’s ways, are becoming further apart. Noise clouds judgement, overwhelming the still small voice, causing further confusion.
Is it easier to fill your life with noise, than to be still in silence?
If I asked what you heard right now, what are you hearing?
I am not just talking about the voices from those who need us, calling for our attention, or the noise from traffic, radio, TV, phone …. But also the words we repeat over in our minds, our worries, the words we carry around in our heart, the endless list of things we need to accomplish …
I used to be frightened of silence. Very rarely would I be without some sort of noise in the background. It wouldn’t necessarily be anything I was particularly listening to, but would be an essential tool to prevent me from thinking too much.
In my late teens I went on a long retreat of several weeks; to help me get through a difficult time. It was the first time I had really been on my own, without family and friends. I was broken; in need of God’s healing. Most of the time I felt afraid, in grief and in desperate need of a hug. I would walk around lost. But the retreat centre ministry team knew what I needed. I needed to work it all out with God by my side and Him alone.
‘Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone.
Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.’
Deuteronomy 13:4 NLT
Apart from services, there was very little noise. You could drop a pin at one end of the building, and I expect you would probably hear it at the other.
Though it was extremely hard, I will always cherish that time of great pain, as when I went home, never again would I need to always have background noise. I actually spend most of my time craving silence. Through my time there I learned to truly listen; to me and to God. I began a beautiful journey of discovery, deepening my hunger to hear God’s voice through the noise of this world.
Are you taking the time to listen?
Often when we come before God with our prayers, we ask to hear from our LORD through words of encouragement, help or direction; either through being led to specific scripture or by other means. But when we ask, are we taking the time to listen to His response, His voice?
‘Be still and know that I am God’
Psalm 46:10 NIV
The Bible is full of people with their requests to God to listen to their prayers, such as -
‘LORD hear my prayer!
Listen to my plea!
Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress.
Bend down and listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.’
Psalm 102:1-2 NLT
God is waiting for us to listen to His voice.
When we ask Him to be near, He is already there. Like Mary, we need to sit at His feet. (Lk 10:39). We need to go to Him, sit at His precious feet, and bathe in His Holy presence and just listen.
As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, not only do we need to read His word daily, but we also need to take time out to listen, as this pleases our God (Deut 13:18).
Let us crave being still in His Holy presence, to cry ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty’ (Isa 6:3) from the depths of our hearts.
‘Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!
Psalm 95:6-7 NLT
Let us pray:
Lord I worship You and bow down before Your throne of grace.
Please remove the barriers in my life, to only hear Your voice.
Help me to be still in Your holy presence, to hunger and thirst for Your truth and light.
I want to listen to Your voice; I am sorry for the many times I have not listened, when I have placed my focus upon other things.
May my relationship with You deepen; may there be no need for words, just being.
May my life be refreshed in Your green pastures.
In Your name
Amen
Application:
Today, I invite you to plan some time to spend purely listening to our Lord. Take your Bible, go where there are little distractions, sit, wait, and be.
I love visiting woodland, a garden, or the coast. Ask God to speak and just listen to what He wants to share with you; nothing about needs, just be, in complete worship of the King of kings.
I hope and pray that you will be abundantly blessed.
Blessings in Him
Anita x
Image by A Hunt © Scattering The Stones
I run a Christian Ministry called 'Scattering The Stones', sharing God's love through encouragement, prayer and praise. You would be most welcome to join me. If you would like prayer, please feel free to contact me.
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