Slowing Down Enough to Hear God

 

“As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer.” (Luke 5:16, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)

I don’t need to read far along the pages of the New Testament before I notice that Jesus is always on the go. He teaches, heals the sick, delivers people from the clutches of the enemy, mentors his followers, debates with the religion leaders. He is always doing something.

Except when he isn’t. The scriptures record many times when the disciples were looking for him. They had no idea where he had gone. Then they see him: coming down from the mountain, out of the wilderness, out of the thicket. What was Jesus doing anyway? Does he ever sleep? Didn’t he realize he was being sought after by the throngs of people?

Jesus made time alone with his Father a priority. If he, being the Son of God, needed to get away from the busyness of life in order to hear his Dad’s voice, how much more essential is it for me, one made of clay?

My husband was sharing part of his story with our youth group a few weeks ago. He talked about how God had directed him to becoming a pastor. He experienced a series of pivot points where God spoke to him regarding which direction he should take. Sometimes it was through the Scriptures, sometimes a word of counsel from a trusted leader, affirmation from his peers, sometimes a tangible sign – like getting a letter in the mail at just the right time. At the end of the evening, he was fielding questions from the kids. One young man who is a new Jesus Follower asked, “How do you know it is God speaking and not just one of the five other voices in your head?” I laughed, not because I thought it a funny question but because I could relate so well. I have been a follower of Jesus for over 50 years, and I still don’t always know if it is His voice, my voice, the voice of people around me, the voice of the enemy, or the junk food I just ate. We concluded that it takes time, time spent getting to know God’s character and his Word. As we get to know him better it becomes more and more easy to hear the difference between all the voices clammouring for our attention and his voice.

There is so much noise in our world today. Music is always playing in every store. The TV or radio (okay, it’s probably Spotify or Apple Music) is always on – but it’s worship music or great sermons. Someone is speeding by in their noisy vehicle – honestly why are there so many broken mufflers?!! Wait…they pay good money to sound like that?! We’re running our kids from one activity to another – it wouldn’t be good for our kids to get bored. There is always someone or something needing our attention – if I don’t do it, it won’t get done. Let me just play on my phone for five more minutes – this is developing my mind, so I don’t get dementia. There are good reasons for the noise and distractions.

“Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”             (Mark 1:35, NLT)

Jesus intentionally carved out time to get to a quiet place, away from distractions, to pray. We also read many times when Jesus says, “I do only that which the Father tells me to.” How did he know? He went to these quiet places so he could hear clearly.

Jesus mentored his followers to do the same:

“Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.”    (Mark 6:31, NLT)

I have often used Ruth Graham (late wife of the late Billy Graham) as an example of one who was intentional about carving out time with Jesus. She said that when her kids were little, it was very hectic in their home. Billy was often away which left her to care for the family alone. She did not have five minutes to rub together when someone was not calling for her. So, she decided that if she was ever going to get a chance to read her Bible, she would have to open it and put it in a place where she knew she walked by regularly throughout the day. On her way to taking one of the little ones to the bathroom, she would walk past her open Bible and read a verse. On her way back to the kitchen to start dinner, she would read a verse. This was her daily rhythm until her kids were older and she could sit down and soak in God’s presence for longer periods of time. She was determined that one way or another she was going to get God’s Word into her soul. She could meditate on a few words while she changed diapers, while she tucked littles into bed, while she washed dishes, etc.

“The gatekeeper opens the gate to [the Good Shepherd] and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)

“My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)

Jesus is speaking to you. If you tilt your head and tune your ear, do you hear him? Do you know his word and his character well enough that if you hear untruths, you can recognize them because they don’t sound like something he would say?

It has been my experience that unless I slow down and get to a quiet place, I cannot hear him clearly. By ‘a quiet place’ I mean stillness in my soul, unhurried, at rest, taking as much time as it takes to still every other voice that is vying for my attention and tuning in to his voice. The more I do this the easier it gets.

““Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”” (Psalm 46:10, NLT)

““Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”” (Psalm 46:10, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)

Pardon the dark question, but if you died today, would the world stop spinning? I’m sure there would be a hiccough, but life would go on. Why do we think that we cannot possibly stop what we are doing and take some time to sit in God’s presence, pour over his word, listen for his voice? What could possibly be more important than sitting with him for a few minutes each day? He says, “My sheep hear my voice.” Notice he doesn’t say, “My sheep will hear my voice” as in some far-off-distant-some-day promise for when we get to heaven, but it is now, for today. He IS speaking to his sheep. So, if you’re not hearing his voice could it be that you don’t recognize it or that you haven’t sat still long enough to listen for it? What is keeping you from stepping out of the fray and into a moment of stillness

The enemy is especially skilled at getting God’s people to do good things – many good things – just so long as we don’t spend time with God. Relationships take time. The more time we spend with someone the better acquainted we become. Jesus came for relationship not activity. What is one thing you and I can do that will get us tuned in to His voice? I am not suggesting we add yet another activity to our busy lives but rather replace one thing so we can carve out a little more time with Him.

[All the emphasized parts in the scriptures are my editing marks]