I've found myself listening to "Overwhelmed" by Big Daddy Weave a lot recently (hopefully I don't get in some kind of copyright trouble for quoting their lyrics in the title). In the song they have this line in the second verse: "I hear the sound of your voice, all at once it's a gentle and thundering noise, oh God, all that You are is so overwhelming". This past weekend we took a bunch of students up to our Winter Retreat for a weekend of worship, fellowship, and time in God's Word. For the last decade we've been basically running our own camp - setting the schedule, lining up a band and a speaker, running the games, etc. And for the most part, especially the last couple of years, we were there by ourselves (just our church). This year we decided to join a retreat that the camp planned, which meant they ran the show, set the schedule, and invited a bunch of other churches to join in.
For the first time in years we had other youth groups to fellowship with. It was pretty cool. The whole weekend was awesome, except for one part: there was no designated "Quiet Time" or "Time Alone with God" on the schedule. Whenever we ran our own camp, we were always careful to have specific times in the morning for the students and leaders to find a quiet space and spend time in God's Word. This past weekend, that didn't happen. So when we gathered on Saturday night to unpack what God had been saying to us throughout the weekend, like we normally do, many of the students felt like they hadn't heard from God at all.
As I was sharing this message last night, I asked some of my leaders to make distracting noises during the message (and to try to be somewhat subtle about it). Then, as I was about to reveal what I thought the reason was as to why people weren't hearing from God, I coordinated with Emilie to blast super loud music over what I was saying. In case you're curious, it was the original Power Rangers theme song (they went so hard in that song). Naturally, no one could hear what I was saying over the music - it was too loud. So I signaled to Emilie to stop it and the other leaders to stop their distractions. It took a while, but I waited for the room to go silent (yall just love to make comments). Once it was completely silent, I repeated what I had said during the loud music, this time in a low whisper:
The reason we find it so hard to hear God's voice in our lives is because our lives are so full of noise that we never stop to listen and hear how God is speaking to us every day.
1 Kings 19:11-13 - "And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"
We often expect God to speak with great power and in a big, booming voice. After all, He is the Creator of all things - and He created the universe by speaking it into exist. We would expect such a powerful being to have a powerful voice. And when God has an important message or a challenge to give, He will shout it so you can't miss it. We can see this at work with Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, when Jesus suddenly appears to him and calls out to him. We also see it when God spoke through the prophets of the Old Testament. But the Bible shows us that God doesn't want to always have to shout to get our attention. He doesn't always speak through great winds, earthquakes, or fires. Sometimes He will speak in a whisper. This is because He wants to have a relationship with us, and He wants us to want to hear Him.
John 10:27 - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."
Jeremiah 29:11-13 - "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
The Bible is very clear that God is interested in more than just our obedience or our worship - He wants us to know Him. Knowing Him should lead us to obedience and worship. The very existence of the Bible, which we call "God's Word", is evidence that He wants us to know Him. God reveals Himself to us in the Bible. He talks to us through the Bible. And that's why it is so important to find quiet times. It is why we found it so hard to hear from God when we were at the Winter Retreat this past weekend, because we weren't being quiet and listening.
We can find plenty of examples throughout the Old and New Testaments of people finding quiet time alone with God. Genesis indicates that Adam and Eve probably got to walk and talk with God every day in the Garden of Eden (before the Fall). Moses' first encounter with God was in the wilderness, when he was alone. Samuel was trying to sleep as a young child when he first heard God speak to him. Daniel spent time alone in prayer every day, which is what got him sent to the lion's den.
As Christians, our most important example is the one Jesus set for us. In Matthew 4 His first step in ministry was to spend forty days and nights fasting in the wilderness - He was spending time with His Father in preparation for His ministry. In Luke 6, before He chose who among His disciples would become "the 12", Jesus spends an entire night on a mountainside in prayer. And the night before He would be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus spent many hours in prayer. These are only a few of the many examples in the Gospels of Jesus retreating to a quiet and solitary place to spend time with God.
What does quiet time accomplish?
Proverbs 2:1-10 - "My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity; every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;"
When we spend quiet time with God, what we are doing is exactly what the author of Proverbs is talking about. We are spending time in the Word of God, inclining our hearts and making our ears attentive to God's voice - we are actively listening to what God has spoken to us in His Word. He says we should seek wisdom and understanding with the same intensity that we seek money and treasure. When we seek God in quiet times with that kind of eagerness, we will find wisdom and understanding.
Paul says pretty much the same thing in a more familiar passage:
Romans 12:1-2 - "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
How can we be transformed and have our minds renewed? By spending time in God's Word and listening for God's whispering voice. We have to find a quiet place and remove distractions. That means you don't take your phone with you to that place. I would encourage you to not even play music (even worship music). Do your best to find a place of true silence and solitude. Then, open up your Bible, the Word of God, and listen as He speaks to you through the words on the page. When you stop reading, don't just close the Bible and walk away. Think about what you read. Meditate on it. Ask God to show you what it means, to help you understand it. And yes, I am saying to spend time in prayer. But don't limit yourself to the typical "letter" format of prayer. You know, the "Dear God, blah blah blah, amen." Ask questions, look back into the Word for answers. If you have doubts or don't understand something, talk about it with God and give Him time to respond. Prayer is supposed to be a dialogue, not a monologue, and for the most part God's part of the conversation has already been written.
If you want to hear God's voice in your life, spend quiet time with Him. Don't set a time limit. Some days you might only spend a few minutes, and other days you may spend half an hour. The important thing is to quiet down all of the noise in your life so that you can make your ear attentive to the Word of God.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
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