“Something is wrong if you are walking with God and you are doing all the talking.”

Priscilla Shirer

I was driving early one morning and I was looking forward to an uninterrupted time of prayer with God.  Something about no traffic and the bump of the road works for me.  This particular morning, I was a full fifteen minutes into all that I had to download.  It was just gushing out.  Then, I started listening to what I was saying and I abruptly stopped.  Didn’t utter another word for the rest of the drive…a full twenty-five minutes.  What thought made me stop?  I’ll tell you in a minute.

The quote above is spot on wisdom.  There is an inherent problem if all the conversations we have with God is one-sided.  God is not Santa Claus, a wishing well or even our therapist.  He is the Creator of all things.  He is omnipotent and knows all things.  He is unlimited and can do all things.  See the theme – when it comes to “all things,” He’s got this.  Why would I be presumptuous enough to think I need to do all the talking?  Why do I not give him enough gravity to slow down and listen to what He wants to say? 

I can’t imagine any relationship going well if one of the participants didn’t express themselves.  Instead, that person would listen, serve and empower the other person continuously.  There would be not back in forth.  Instead, a constant outflow of their inner being to help the other person grow, take new ground, heal, vent, struggle and succeed.  While the muted one never says a word.

I encourage all of us to take time to be quiet before God.  We still need to pour our hearts out to Him.  He wants to hear all that we feel, think and believe.  He created our wiring and passions – it brings Him immense joy.  But we need to listen.  We need to ask questions and listen.  We need to trust Him and listen.  We need to worship and exalt Him and listen.  We need to seek His presence and listen.  We need to be quiet and listen. 

I remember listening to a message and the speaker used this quote – “Silence is loud.”  It really is.  Few people enjoy the utter sound of silence.  As I type this, I hear the hum of the refrigerator.  I love instrumental music.  I enjoy sitting by the water – ocean or lake – it is so relaxing to me.  Even on one of those early morning drives, the hum of the tires is rhythmically beating in my head. 

We run from silence because we feel the need to do something. 

I stopped talking that morning because the thought hit me, “You always have something to say. Why?”  I am wired to cast vision and fix things.  I love strategizing the future and making things as close to 100% as possible.  That morning, I felt the Lord prompting me to stop giving Him what I thought so He could tell me what He thought.  For all the things going on in my world, He had some ideas.  The first few minutes were awkward.  I had to tell myself to not run ahead when I heard something.  The silence was loud, but the strength of God’s presence was stronger.

I encourage you to take the challenge.  Stop talking to God all the time and give Him time to talk to you.  You will see the difference the silence makes.