Shut up is one of those phrases I don’t prefer, in fact when my kids were younger it was on the “banned” list of words. However, it is a phrase that seems to capture attention and since that is the point of this particular post, it seems appropriate. Let me try to explain by asking some questions – What is God saying to you today? When was the last time you were absolutely sure you heard God speak to you in a personal and real way? Do you even feel that God speaks to you? 

This idea of God speaking and me being quiet enough to listen seems to keep coming up in my life. A sure indicator that God is trying to tell me something and I’m either not listening or not paying attention. This whole idea first caught my attention last week when I randomly picked up a book on how to discern the voice of God. My girls and I were at the bookstore to pick up a devotional book for my daughter. After finding the book we were looking for, we spent some time just browsing. As a side note, some of my family will find this humorous because there was a time that I HATED to read. So the fact that I was browsing at a bookstore for something to read is not something I do all that frequently. Normally I know what I’m after and just order it from Amazon. But we were bored and decided to make the drive to the bookstore to pick up the book instead. To further show how random this book selection was, I actually had a different book in my hand, headed to the checkout when the clearance section and this book caught my eye. Hearing God or discerning His voice was not something that had been on my mind or that I had been thinking about, but who doesn’t want to better discern God’s voice?  

The following morning, I was having a focus problem while reading my devotional and Bible, which is nothing new, but on that morning it was extremely frustrating to me. As I prayed asking for the focus I desired, this thought hit me-”just stop”. Stop, listen and learn! While I can’t imagine God ever telling us to shut up, this thought was so unexpected and seemingly out of the blue that it grabbed my attention just like the words shut up. The scripture passage I just happened to be reading that morning was Isaiah 44:1 which begins “And now listen, Jacob my servant”. It was like God was saying to me “Hey Lori, I’m getting ready to talk to you, are you paying attention?”Just to put another exclamation on the point, this past Sunday, our pastor preached on Proverbs 4:20-27. Verse 20 begins “My son, pay attention to my words”. Yep! I get it God, I need to shut up and listen!

Maybe it’s just me, but do you ever find yourself torn between wanting to sit with scripture, allowing God to soak into and open up those uncomfortable places deep inside versus thinking, “I know this passage of scripture so well, I don’t need to spend much time here”. When this happens, I tend to read through scripture quickly and then put it away. Honestly, it happens to me more than I’d like to admit. There are times when I know I miss truth, miss out listening to God, miss understanding, miss God because I am unwilling to take or make the time to sit quietly and just listen and reflect on what I have just read. Too often I read and talk but don’t listen. There are numerous reasons for this behavior. Whether it’s that I assume I know everything there is to know about a familiar passage of scripture or that I have too much to do and feel like my to-do list is more important. But also there are those times when I don’t really want to allow God complete access to my heart because I know it’s going to hurt and quite possibly bring up painful emotions and expose sin.

The thing is I know, I know, I know that I miss so much by not waiting and listening. I know that the temporary pain of being confronted with my sin is necessary and beneficial. I know that this place of quiet discipline is how God grows me and really changes me. Scripture is full of references when we are told to listen, hear or pay attention. So, why do I avoid it so often? Why is it so hard to do what I know to be good and right? 

The answer is so simple, yet extremely complex -sin. The enemy wants to keep us from hearing and discerning God’s voice. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be on guard because our enemy is looking for ways to knock us off our game. The longer Satan can keep us away from God, hearing and distinguishing his voice, the longer he can keep feeding us the slue of lies that he loves to fill our head with. John 10:27 tells us that God’s sheep (that’s you and me) will follow Him when we hear His voice. That is exactly the enemy’s ploy in filling our heads with so many other voices. It’s his attempt to confuse and distract us. 

Maybe it’s not so much that we don’t hear but that we don’t understand or are fearful of what God is asking us to do. We don’t want to confront the truth and are content to remain in this place of bondage and slavery. We know what to expect and how it works. We lack discipline, we are impatient and want things right now. We have lost the ability to wait and embrace the quiet. In many ways it’s easier to not know or understand. Because then we don’t have to change our behavior.

Clearly, I by no means have this all figured out! It requires daily discipline and practice. But I can share a few things that God has taught me about sitting and waiting when what I really want is to go and do. 

• Practice-Sitting quietly, not talking or praying takes practice and discipline. It’s something we have to schedule and practice a lot! Start off slow,  and build upon what you learn. 
• Ask questions- Ask God what He wants you to hear or understand. Is there a word or phrase in scripture that tugs on that place in your heart? You know that place, where it’s a little bit uncomfortable. Fight the urge to move away, just stay and listen. Write down what you think you hear Him saying to you.
• Give yourself grace– Seriously, it is so easy for us to give everyone grace but ourselves. The life of following Jesus is a journey, with highs and lows. We are going to mess up and get off track. And that is exactly why we need Jesus. Don’t forget, Jesus wants this for us. James 1:5 tells us if we lack wisdom to ask Jesus who will give generously. 
• Find what works for you- We are all different, what works for you might not work for me and vice versa. Try a variety of methods and let God lead you to what works for you. 

I’d love to hear other ideas and thoughts on things that help you be quiet and still before God, so please share if you have any tips or techniques. We are on this journey together.