Learning to Be Still So That I Can Hear From God

In review of Job 37:14 it says, “Pause a moment, Job, and listen; consider the wonderful things God does.”

Bottom Line:

Pause and consider the wonder of God.

What this means to me:

I am to take the time to pause and carefully consider the many wonderful things God has done, and will continue to do.

One thing I’m learning is that I need to be quiet in order to hear God speak. To hear God’s vision, I’ll need to turn off the television. I can’t really listen to God and the TV (or anything else for that matter) at the same time!

One possible reason for not hearing God speak could be my lack of just being quiet with him. Something is always going on in my mind, so while God is trying to get through to me on the telephone of life, he gets a busy signal. It appears that I need to reserve time alone with God.

The Bible says in Job 37:14, “Pause a moment, Job, and listen; consider the wonderful things God does” (GNT).

From his Word I learn that God wants to spend time with me. He wants me to “Pause, be quiet, get alone, and learn solitude so He can talk with me.” As an adult I know I get spiritual wiggles. It’s really hard to be still and be quiet.

Here’s something to consider:

Is getting God’s dream for my life worth a day of my life? The thought here was to take an entire day and do nothing but be alone with God. Talk to Him in prayer. Let God talk to me through his word. Relax. Think. Write down the thoughts he puts in my mind. Set some goals. Look through my schedule. Set my priorities. Spend the day saying, “God, where do you want me to go? What direction do you want my feet headed?”

What I’m learning is that God will speak to those who take the time to listen, not just for a day, but on a regular basis. I guess that is why they call this quiet time.

Even though I may think that I don’t have time for this, it’s important to do. It’s all about figuring out why I’m here on Earth. It’s imperative to make the time.

In retrospect, my weekday routine is to spend time in prayer quietly before leaving my house. I then spend additional time such as reading and documenting what I read while enjoying my first cup of coffee at Starbucks. Given this routine, I only spend a few minutes at the beginning of my prayer time just being quiet. I usually use the following verse as a springboard for my quiet time, “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” (Matthew 6:6 MSG)

But based upon what I’m studying this morning I realize that I’m not really spending much time actually being quiet and waiting on God to speak to me. I need to consider if there is something I can adjust in my weekday morning routine, or perhaps something to supplement it with on the weekends so that I can be still and quiet before him. I do have some time coming up tomorrow morning when my wife and daughter are getting together. Perhaps I’ll consider using this time to do a smaller version of just spending time with God.