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Getting Quiet Before God

    Getting Quiet Before God

    Moment of Silence

    Have you ever been in a service where they were going to take some time in silence before God? Most leaders can’t do it. They set up the time to be quiet and proceed to talk all the way through it.

    As someone in the congregation, it is distracting. I find when I try to be still, focus and listen, the leader’s constant instructions interrupt me. In the end, there may be 5 minutes to talk through how we will be quiet and a couple sets of 30 seconds each where we are truly quiet with more instructions in the middle.

    Finding Space Among the Noise

    I understand the difficulties these leaders are facing. It is not how we live our lives. Getting quiet goes against the constant flow noise we give ourselves through the internet, television, music, or conversations. Even moments that once were a place of silence, we now entertain ourselves with our phones.

    Busyness threatens our communion with God. We never allow ourselves to settle down to get alone with our God. It’s not that we don’t have quiet times; we just don’t stop long enough for God to break through the noise.

    God may meet with us through sermons, reading Scripture, or worship music, but it takes discipline to stop and compare God’s truths with our inner dialogue. Those inner thoughts subtly guide our decisions and actions. If we don’t know what they are, we don’t know whether they are from God.

    Meditating on Scripture

    The Bible talks about the discipline of meditating on Scripture. This is when we take a truth from God and allow it to linger in our thoughts. We gain a greater insight in its impact and allow it to grow deeper into our hearts and motives.

    Meditation happens when we quiet our surroundings. We limit the other noises to get alone with God, His word, and our thoughts. We can identify areas of unbelief and make corrections in our thinking. Without that stillness, we miss being able to make those deeper connections.

    One of the best resources I have found in hearing the voice of God is Mark Virkler's How to Hear God's Voice. The four steps he takes you through will give you confidence to walk into the amazing adventure of hearing God's voice.

    God Speaks in the Silence

    It is when we quiet our hearts we can hear the voice of God. God is constantly speaking, but He longs for relationship. He is not screaming His truths to a people who don’t appreciate them. He is looking for His beloved ones to lean into to Him long enough to hear the whispers.

    At times, I will turn off the radio in the car. I may chose not to pull out my phone while in the waiting room. Or, I will go to a meeting early to sit alone in the room before it starts.

    It takes intentionality to close off outward distractions. Close your eyes, clear your mind, silence your lips, and let God speak.

    As we practice getting quiet before God, we will start to hear Him everywhere. God loves to speak to you. You are precious to Him. He wants to lead you into the life everlasting.

    6 thoughts on “Getting Quiet Before God”

    1. Thank you for this piece. I have been going through a lot this time around. I have been a praying and fasting Christian since I was a child, I am also a believer , I study the scriptures without seasons but in my recent time, I haven’t been hearing from God , I yearn to hear from him but to no avail. I don’t know where else to look for Him as I’m desperate to hear Him speak to my troubled heart.

      1. Dear Joy,
        God wants to speak to you. Sometime we get so caught up with what we are going through that we look more for answers to our problems than whatever God wants to talk about. Sometimes we want Him to tell us what to do, and He just wants us to know that He is here with us.

        I feel that God has you in dance. It is not so much about conversation at this time as it is about experiencing connection with Him. I hope this make more sense to you than me, but I just feel He is holding your hand and leading you in a dance. It is not a journey on a path, but the back and forth steps of a dance. It appears not to accomplish anything or go anywhere, But God is leading and enjoying being with you.

        I hope you find that encouraging.
        Blessings,
        Kevin

    2. Thank you for this post. It does encourage me to be quiet before God, which I daydream about anyway, if that makes sense, hehe. I long that God would hold me in His arms, like you would a child, and we gaze into each other’s faces, not saying anything, but enjoying each other’s presence for hours. I don’t know if that’s appropriate to imagine with God, though. However, I do have a question. How do I know what thoughts in my mind are of God and which ones are mine? Because of Depression and Anxiety, I already have an overactive mind with intrusive thoughts, some good and some negative. So, if I were to write down what any random thought would be as if it’s God speaking to me, it might be totally off. I can’t assume that all thoughts that are negative or rebuking are not from God, because what if He is rebuking me for something? And if He is not pleased with me, He wouldn’t be sending me thoughts saying that He delights in me. So how do I know?

      1. Dear Rachel,
        It is best to have people who know you and believe in you to walk with you in hearing from God. You are correct that there are times that God will correct you (rebuke is for ones actively in rebellion to God). Even in correction or rebuke, God will always lead you to life. If you are discouraged and immobilized from the rebuke, it is from the enemy trying to pull you away from God.

        In Isaiah 42, God says a bruised reed He will not break; a smoldering wick He will not snuff out. God cares too much about you to kick you when you are down. Rachel, God is doing everything He can to show you how much He loves you. Jesus died on the cross for you. It was for the joy of knowing you and bringing you into relationship with Him, that Jesus went to the cross. God has seen all of your struggles and sees how you still desire a relationship with Him. He want you to know the full measure of His love and He can’t communicate them if you think He is displeased with you.

        We have all made mistakes, but Jesus offers us forgiveness of all sin. David sinned, and he was called a man after God’s own heart. Abraham sinned, and he was called a friend of God. Peter sinned, and he was given the responsibility to build the church. Paul sinned, and he wrote most of the New Testament

        God is not looking to punish you. He wants you to see how much He loves you.

        Hope this helps. Glad to hear from you again.
        Kevin

        1. Hi Kevin,
          Thank you for your reply. I am encouraged by your response. It’s interesting you quoted the verse from Isaiah 42. I stumbled upon that verse a few months ago, and it has become one of my favorite verses.
          I still struggle with believing that He loves me, as it seems like most of my prayers, and my most urgent prayers go unanswered. I know He is listening, since His Holy Spirit is within me, which in of itself, is comforting. But does He care or think my prayers are important?
          I wonder, is there a way to contact you directly? I had found something online that I had saved about God’s love. But I am not sure of the validity of it, so I would like to send it to you, just to get your impression of it.
          Thank you for answering my questions. 🙂

    3. Wow thank you sir,
      i learn to be quiet to hear God, sir i have been praying thinking i should hear him during praying. thankyou sir

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