WEEK ONE - MAKE ROOM
WEEK DAY DEVOTIONALS
Tuesday: Quiet the Noise
______________________
We live in an incredibly loud world. Whether it’s the tv left on in the background, constant opinions and chatter from social media, or the overwhelming inner thoughts we struggle to contain…It can be hard to turn down the noise and tune into God.
Some people avoid the quiet because it forces us to address the hard truths they have been trying to outrun.
Some people feel uncomfortable in the quiet and feel the need to fill the empty space with something, anything, just to avoid any kind of silence or discomfort.
But the hard truth is sometimes when we avoid the quiet, we avoid God and what He has to say to us.
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19:11-12
We tend to think God will speak through these mighty things, and sometimes He can, but a lot of the time He is waiting for us to still our hearts and listen for that gentle whisper. The sad part is with the way we fill our ears with constant noise of the world, we miss the whisper and inherently, we miss God Himself.
Mark 1:35: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Luke 5:16: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Luke 4:42: "The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them, but he said, 'I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.'"
These are just a few examples of Jesus, Himself, taking time to get alone in the quiet just to pray. If Jesus, the son of God, our Savior, fully man and fully God, needed time in the quiet to pray, how much more do we need to apply that same practice of getting somewhere quiet to hear from the Lord.
Today, I would encourage you to go somewhere away from everyone else, away from the noise of the world, leave your phone in another room or at home and be still before the Lord.
Think about what noise distracts you the most and how can you intentionally quiet your life today?
Do you need to delete socials or your scrolling apps that you default to in your spare time, or turn off the tv for these 21 days?
Do you need to turn off certain notifications that lead to anxiety or the fear of missing out?
Who’s voice do you tend to listen to more than the Lord’s?
______________________
Heavenly Father,
I’m asking for your help to seek you in the quiet. Lord, please help me to turn down the noise of the world and quiet my thoughts so that I can hear your gentle whisper. Teach me to pray like Jesus, consistent, attentive and undistracted. Help me to seek your voice more than any other voice out here in the world trying to influence me, it’s your wisdom I want. Thank you for hearing my prayers and joining me in the quiet. I ask these things in your precious son Jesus’ name,
Amen
We live in an incredibly loud world. Whether it’s the tv left on in the background, constant opinions and chatter from social media, or the overwhelming inner thoughts we struggle to contain…It can be hard to turn down the noise and tune into God.
Some people avoid the quiet because it forces us to address the hard truths they have been trying to outrun.
Some people feel uncomfortable in the quiet and feel the need to fill the empty space with something, anything, just to avoid any kind of silence or discomfort.
But the hard truth is sometimes when we avoid the quiet, we avoid God and what He has to say to us.
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19:11-12
We tend to think God will speak through these mighty things, and sometimes He can, but a lot of the time He is waiting for us to still our hearts and listen for that gentle whisper. The sad part is with the way we fill our ears with constant noise of the world, we miss the whisper and inherently, we miss God Himself.
Mark 1:35: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Luke 5:16: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Luke 4:42: "The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them, but he said, 'I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.'"
These are just a few examples of Jesus, Himself, taking time to get alone in the quiet just to pray. If Jesus, the son of God, our Savior, fully man and fully God, needed time in the quiet to pray, how much more do we need to apply that same practice of getting somewhere quiet to hear from the Lord.
Today, I would encourage you to go somewhere away from everyone else, away from the noise of the world, leave your phone in another room or at home and be still before the Lord.
Think about what noise distracts you the most and how can you intentionally quiet your life today?
Do you need to delete socials or your scrolling apps that you default to in your spare time, or turn off the tv for these 21 days?
Do you need to turn off certain notifications that lead to anxiety or the fear of missing out?
Who’s voice do you tend to listen to more than the Lord’s?
______________________
Heavenly Father,
I’m asking for your help to seek you in the quiet. Lord, please help me to turn down the noise of the world and quiet my thoughts so that I can hear your gentle whisper. Teach me to pray like Jesus, consistent, attentive and undistracted. Help me to seek your voice more than any other voice out here in the world trying to influence me, it’s your wisdom I want. Thank you for hearing my prayers and joining me in the quiet. I ask these things in your precious son Jesus’ name,
Amen