One mistake I think many Christians – including myself - often make, is us getting in our heads that, in order to spend time with God, we’ve got to be saying something. Without giving the Lord a chance to get a word in edgewise, we ramble on about our needs, our desires, and our problems until we feel like we’ve said enough. Once we think we’ve put in enough time, we wrap it up, say Amen, and wait until the next day when we’ll repeat the process.

The problem with this, however, is that we are turning our time with God into a monologue instead of a dialogue. Christianity was never intended to be a single-sided relationship, yet, for many, that’s what it has become. I know that I’ve never really enjoyed talking with somebody who thinks they are the only one with anything worth saying, and I highly doubt the Lord does either. Could it be that the reason we aren’t hearing from God like we want to is because we simply won’t listen for His voice?

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

                         -Psalm 46:10

Some of the best moments I’ve ever spent with God were times of complete silence on my part. Whether going outside and watching the beauty of the night sky, or sitting in a church pew enjoying the presence of the Lord, I’ve learned that God has His own ways of speaking to us. He doesn’t always speak audibly; He finds louder ways of getting our attention. But, even if He does speak, will we be able to hear Him over our own voices?

Perhaps the Lord has spoken to your heart in the few moments that you’ve been reading this post. Maybe He’s telling you it’s time to “be still” and listen to the song He’s singing over you (Zeph. 3:17), or that it’s time to stop standing still and start moving forward in Him. Whatever He may be saying to you, listen closely.