Encouraging and empowering people to live victorious lives in Christ

Posts tagged ‘quiet time’

Still and Listening: Meeting God in the Quiet

Earlier this week, I posted this thought on my personal Facebook page:

“Sometimes what we need most isn’t a book or a devotional—it’s simply to sit in God’s presence.”

This idea came to me as I was thinking about how we can grow spiritually.  I recently preached a message at my church regarding spiritual growth and victorious living (you can click here to listen in!).  I shared some things we can do to help us; activities such as prayer, bible study, fasting, etc.  All of those activities are good, but there is something we can add to that list, something I believe we don’t do enough of.

When was the last time you sat quietly in God’s presence?  When was the last time you just sat in a chair or knelt or just paused to be with God?  Since God is omnipresent, we don’t need to go to a particular place (like our local church) to be in God’s presence.  Nor do we need a book or a devotional or worship music (although there is nothing wrong with using these tools) to usher us into His presence.  All we need is a true desire to spend time with Him! And guess what: God desires to be with us too!  

Sitting in silence may make us uncomfortable.  We are so accustomed to there being constant noise around us, so when things are quiet, it may feel awkward. But the quieter we are, the more prepared we are to receive from God.  Our intentional silence is our way to get in position to hear what He has to say.

When should we seek God’s presence?  All the time!  Not just we have a specific need, but whenever we want to just be with Him.  Think about a good friend:  although life can be busy for all of us, unless we maintain some connection, we may grow apart.  If we are not intentional about seeking God’s presence, our connection with Him can weaken.

So, what are you going to do today to enter into the presence of God?  Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in how you spend that time. And as we spend intentional, quiet ime with Him, He can speak to our hearts as we are drawn closer to Him.

Does this post resonate with you? Please comment below and share this post with a friend!

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The Importance of Silence

by Brenna J. Fields

Have you ever been so busy with various things in life until you feel like you can’t think straight?  You’re moving from task to task, assignment to assignment, doing them on autopilot (or so it seems).  Then, when you finally come out of that busy season, you can take a moment to exhale.  You breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that you have been able to successfully navigate a crazy time in your life, and you take a moment (hopefully) to just pause.

This is exactly where I am as I write this.  From January until this past weekend, I have been moving non-stop! The month of February was particularly crazy for me, having coordinated 3 events, facilitated my weekly group coaching program, led my bi-monthly online book study, taught my weekly Sunday School class, and worked my day job.  I prayed that I would get through all of that with some level of success, and God definitely answered my prayer.

As I am now able to exhale a bit, one of the things I’m learning is the importance of silence.  This past Sunday, I spent some time at the beach, which is one of the things I enjoy doing to relax.  While sitting in the sun and enjoying the breeze, ideas began to come to mind about the next things I can do in ministry as well as my businesses.  Where did these ideas come from?  Why weren’t they coming before now?

I believe my ideas stopped flowing because my mind was too cluttered; there were no room for me to receive them!  If those ideas had come while I was in the middle of finalizing plans for 3 events, when would I have acted on them?  They probably would have been lost in the shuffle of everything else. 

I understood the importance of silence prior to now, but this season has reinforced this lesson in me.  Two things are standing out:

First, while we will have seasons of busyness in life, we should not want to exist in a perpetually busy state.  One effect of overwork in my life is that I don’t sleep well.  My sleep is interrupted by my mind trying to remember all the details of what I’m working on, especially if I’ve got multiple things going on at the same time.  It’s not good for our physical and mental health to live like this all the time.

Second, we must schedule and plan downtime.  As I was in the middle of everything in January and February, I kept looking at the calendar to see when I would get a break.  Then I made up in my mind that I would take that break (even if I didn’t exactly know at the time what I would do with it).  Not only do we have to schedule and plan our downtime, we must also protect it.  Invariably, something will come along that can potentially rob us of it, so we must be intentional about safeguarding it.  Learning how to say “no” is an important part of this.

I encourage you (as I remind myself) to remember that silence is important.  Silence is not a waste of time!  It enables us to recharge, refocus and to be inspired to take the next steps to achieving our goals.  Be sure to take time (and make time) for silence, if not today, then one day very soon!

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