Have you ever had someone text or call you or spontaneously drop by and start out by saying, “I just really need to talk to you”? Of course you have. Have you ever instinctively thought, “Oh, no. Talking right now is the absolute last thing I want to do. The last thing I have time for right now”?
Now, have you ever contacted someone and told them that you really needed to talk and so hoped they DID have the time, and didn’t think the same thoughts about talking to you right then?
Of course, it’s almost 100% safe to say we all have had those experiences. We’ve been on both sides of that situation. We want to have conversations. We need to be heard and to listen.
We have the greatest privilege and opportunity, one almost too great to imagine. We have a God who is always available for all of us, and He WANTS to speak to us. He always has time.
Our problem often is that we get so wound up in our responsibilities and life in general that we don’t allow time and space for great conversations to occur.
I encourage you start a new discipline in your life. Set aside 15 minutes a day to sit in a place without distractions and humbly, with faith, ask God to speak to you. Have a pen and pad and begin to write down what you are sensing. You may want to start with a short verse of Scripture. Don’t turn this into a Bible study. This your time to listen in perhaps a new way. Anything you sense God speaking to you, check it out.
Start with 15 minutes. Don’t be discouraged. You WILL begin to hear from God as you give Him time and space. Soon you will have a hard time ending your conversation in 15 minutes, and His voice will follow you in new ways throughout the day. It will not only change the direction of your life; it will transform your life.
As we have been learning about hearing from God, I have become convinced that this kind of listening to God is the most important thing missing in most people’s lives. Silence is golden, but most people enjoy noise. Some of us are literally addicted to noise. We walk through a room and automatically turn on the TV just to hear noise. We are the most, noise-polluted generation in history, and as a result, we’re less frequently alone with our own thoughts, and we seldom hear God’s voice.
Silence and solitude can be an expression of faith, just as a quiet absence of anxiety can be an expression of faith. David said, “My soul waits in silence for God only; from him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken” (Psalm 62:5-7 NASB).
This week find your silent time and space of solitude to say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”