Learn to be Still and Hear God’s Voice

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to “be still.”

The phrase is repeated throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament and New.

When I spend time with the Lord, I am often physically still, but my mind is absorbing the Word of God I just read over, or I’m spending time in worship, thanksgiving, or prayer. But I don’t spend much time on the practice of “stillness”.

It used to take me a long time to fall asleep because my brain would be so active as I lay with my eyes closed, thinking of all the things I had on my plate the next day. While I don’t necessarily suggest this as the cure for insomnia, the way I stopped this awful habit of my brain working on overdrive was working as a correctional officer at a maximum-security prison. There was just something cathartic about the clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-SLAM! as the last security gate closed behind me on the way out the door at the end of the day.

Now I fall asleep in what seems like three minutes or less after my head hits the pillow. It’s amazing!

I realize those three minutes are probably the only true stillness of my day. And while the last thing I do is thank God for each day, I can’t say that I feel like experiencing stillness with the Lord is the focus of those last moments of consciousness each day.

So the other day, I decided to practice sitting in stillness with the Lord. The plan was to sit quietly with the Lord for about five minutes, absorbing His presence and listening for His voice. Let’s be honest, how often do we probably miss what he’s trying to tell us because we are so busy and focused on other things?

Let’s just say…it did not go well.

Instead of enjoying the stillness, I kept turning to prayer, or dinner, or the next “thing” I had to do. Instead of enjoying the stillness with the Lord.

I think about when Jesus rebuked the winds and waves on the Sea of Galilee:

I feel like when most people reflect on that passage, they focus on the lack of faith the Disciples displayed amidst the chaos.

Instead, I want to approach from the perspective of the wind and waves. I want to submit to the Lord in the same way the weather did so I can experience that same type of overwhelming calm.

While my first attempt at stillness with God was an abject failure, I know that is a habit worth developing. Like any good habit, it won’t always be easy. It will take time and devotion to cultivate it. And like all things of God, I have no doubt the results will be absolutely worth it.

My challenge to you is to find your own ways to be still with the Lord. Utterly still. And listen for His voice. He has a message for you.