Getting Quiet with God

The Information Age in which we live and work and interact with others came to us with the promise of simplifying our lives and our work and our interaction with others.

The opposite is usually the case. And one of the first casualties of that ever-bustling simplification is our ability to be ‘quiet.’

Just think about it: When was the last time you were quiet with your thoughts for longer than a few minutes? Instead, if you are like me, you usually check your email or social media sites several times an hour; or you plop yourself down in front of the computer screen or scan the cable channels to fill in the times of boredom. 

It will not surprise those who are even marginally familiar with the Scriptures, that God has something to say to us about quietness and true simplification. For example, “O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me. Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever” (Psalm 131).

Or this section from Matthew’s gospel in which the Lord Jesus encourages us: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

God created us for Himself – to love us and that we might love Him. But we cannot learn to love Him unless we get to know Him. And we cannot get to know Him unless we spend time with Him – quiet time. Just you and Him. Just me and Him.

I’ve been asked how I developed a quiet time with the Lord. The answer is easier than the doing, but the doing is not as difficult as it at first seems. Like with anything worth doing, developing a quiet time takes practice – and consistency.

Distraction is the most common reason quiet time with the Lord is disrupted. So, to maximize our ability to be quiet with Christ, we need to minimize those things that can distract us. Here are some useful tools I have used over the last couple of decades that help me get – and remain – quiet with Him. These tools are not in any particular order:

1. Tell God you would like to spend more quiet time with Him. Ask Him to help you learn how to better do that.

2. Expect God to speak with you, during your quiet time. This is an important point, for if we don’t think God is interested in meeting with us, then we will become far more easily distracted.

3. How much time will you plan to spend quietly with God? 15 minutes? 30?  If you don’t make that decision up front, you’ll find yourself ready to move on with your day after five minutes.

4. If possible, find a quiet place in your home, away from family or pets.

5. Turn the phone off – not on vibrate. Turning it off will remove the possibility of receiving interrupting phone calls or text messages. It will also help you avoid the temptation to ‘just take a peek’ at your email or social media sites.

6. Keep a pad of paper and a pen in your ‘quiet’ room. The pad serves two purposes: Invariably you will think of some task you need to do later that day. Jotting down the thought will remove the temptation to cut short your time with God for fear you will forget to do whatever it is you need to do. The second purpose of the pad is to keep record of that God says to you during your quiet time.

7. Do NOT try to completely blank out your thoughts. Doing so is unnatural. Images and ideas will always flit through our minds. So, what we must do during our quiet time when thoughts flutter in and out is to focus our thoughts.  I have found over decades of experience that reading Scripture helps focus my wandering thoughts on God.

My reading is not a haphazard ‘open the book and read whatever page opens up.’  It is a consistent, daily journey, chapter by chapter through a book of the Bible – for example, Psalms, or the Gospels, or one of the epistles.  I usually pause after a while and meditate on what I just read. Is God trying to say something to me through this passage?

Sometimes no special insights or ‘a-ha’ moments come to mind. And that’s okay.  The Lord does not speak to me every time I read the Scripture. But my pausing gives Him opportunity to say something to me if He wishes to do so. If He is quiet after I wait a few minutes, I continue reading through the chapter or chapters, pausing now and then with the same intent as when I first start.

Every devoted parent loves to talk with his or her child. That’s why you and I can have utter confidence that our Father in heaven longs to speak with us.

But we need to be quiet enough to hear Him.

I hope my suggestions will help you learn to practice quietness in the presence of our God.