Photo by 童 彤 on Unsplash

So much praying, so little listening.

Desperate pleas asking for wishes to be granted without consideration of God’s best intention for you.

So how do you know that your prayers have been answered?  What does God’s voice sound like to you?

Maybe it’s not a voice.  Maybe it’s the lyrics of a song, a synchronistic happening or a deep desire (the root translation meaning to “come from the stars”).

Maybe God’s voice is in the laughter of children or the sobs of a grieving mother.

There is one thing I do know for sure.  If we don’t make room for silence in our daily lives we will surely never hear God’s voice.

We are a culture of busy-ness and noise…so much noise.  Noise distracts us from our pain.  It keeps our thinking minds occupied on the past and the future and robs us of the peace and serenity of the present moment.

We are afraid of silence because it means we must confront our own thinking.  It forces us to tame our minds.  It forces us to feel our pain.

But grace lives in the silence, in presence, my friends.

“i if you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.” – Lao Tzu

Turn off the music.  Turn off the tv.  For heaven’s sake put down your phones.

And be in the silence with just the sound of your heartbeat and your breath.

And listen…