Turn it Down

Click to the promo tab on your email account and just give it a scroll. Every email is urgent, important and directive. Every single one is vying for your attention, your time, your energy, your paycheck, your freedom, your focus and whatever other pound of flesh it can grab. It is so easy to get sucked into the noise.

And this is only one little tab on your email. How much more is social media bargaining with you for the same? Add in the television, billboards, family, boss, roommate, friendships, hunger and it is no wonder that a whispering God can’t get our attention. 

Do your prayers ever sound like this: God make it clear, show me, be loud, cut out the noise, be direct. I have prayed those prayers many times and it doesn’t always work. Why? Because I’ve been the one to invite the noise. And God works inside our agreement. He is gentle–a true gentleman–in that way. 

It’s like this: Sometimes my kids will blare music while they are doing dishes. It’s their coping mechanism for the nightly clean up duty. I agree, it’s so fun. Unless I’m trying to do nearly anything else. Then we’re at odds. I’ve got a different idea of how the night should go–the atmosphere I’m trying to create after a late meal, the vision I have for conversation with them or how I’m trying to wind down with my spouse. Loud music, although high-energy inducing, isn’t always beneficial, even with dishes. 

Meanwhile, they inevitably ask me a question about what they have going on the next day and how they are desperate for my help. I go to instruct them but they can’t hear me. Turn it down, I say. So you can hear me answer you. 

Will they or won’t they? That’s a question for us too. 

Look, can God eliminate the noise? Yes. 

Does he? Sometimes. 

I think the better question is, why don’t we? 

Why are we making it so much harder to hear and commune with God? 

Are we afraid of the silence? Are we afraid of his voice? Do we believe we already know what he’ll say? Do we just not care? Have we never even considered that he’s trying to speak through the noise? 

That part is between you and him. And I invite you to uncover it. 

Here’s how we know when it’s gotten noisy:

Oh girl, we know, don’t we? For me, I can’t keep my hands off my phone. I can’t calm down. I can’t even think about silence or solitude. Let me take that back, I can think about a place of silence and solitude, but it’s almost like it’s a world or dream away. When or if it comes, I can’t participate in it. My pace, my hurry, my noisy rhythm clogs it all up. My prayers sound like my to-do list, or a wish list instead of declarations echoed from heavenly places. 

Those are the signs of noisy living. My thoughts are not my own, but they’re not the Lord’s either. There are a million other urgent, important, and directive messages swirling and they have my full attention. 

Is God listening in the midst of all of that? For sure! But nothing changes, because I’ve committed myself to the noise. I’ve chosen it over him. 

Bleh. 

We won’t solve all of it with one blog post, but here’s how we can start to clear the noise: 

Submit yourself to a time of silence and solitude. 

We know this was a practice of Jesus and we are called to follow in his ways. (Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Mark 6:31) 

Start with 5 minutes, then move incrementally to more and more time alone with the Lord. 

Invite Jesus into that space with you. 

I know we are practicing silence here, but in this case audibly ask him to come and spend this time with you. He will never reject your invitation! Invite him to speak to you, to give you a vision, a word, or a picture of himself and his love for you. Saying it aloud, albeit quietly, aligns your will to His will through your agreement. 

Focus on his Character. 

If he has another direction for you to go in your time together, then do that. Otherwise, take a look at these 15 attributes of God. Focus on one and relate it to a time where you’ve seen God be himself in that way in your life. 

Eternal–Infinite, Always existing	Omnipresent–Always Everywhere	Immutability–never changing
Mercy–Compassionate; spares the guilty	Holiness–separateness, otherness, void of sin	Love–active pursuit of love for us
Goodness–Kind, full of Goodwill	Omniscient–All Knowing	Justice–defender of righteousness
Omnipotent–All Powerful	Immanence–a presence that is available to humanity	Sovereignty–Supreme authority
Grace–pours out blessing	Righteousness–Perfect in all he does	Glorious–beautiful, an unmatched display

Find more in depth notes on these characteristics here: 

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/15-amazing-attributes-of-god-what-they-mean-and-why-they-matter.html

Praise Him. 

End your silence with gratitude for all that you’ve considered while in silence.