Silence & Solitude
"Last Sunday we talked about the necessity of developing Silence and Solitude in our lives with God. Most often when we feel disconnected or not as spiritually vibrant it is because we are missing this incredibly important aspect of our faith development. Moments of silence with God.
This past week I was in Portland with a group of pastors from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington and we were discussing this great need for silence and solitude. All the pastors agreed that the thing that is hardest to convince people of is also the most important. That without those moments alone with God we will not grow in our faith.
I want to give you a couple practices that can help you develop this critical aspect of your spiritual walk.
Schedule in the Time: 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. If you don't put it in your schedule it won't happen.
Meditate on a scripture, phrase or image and just be silent and focus. No expectation, no demands, no agendas. Just contemplating on Jesus.
7 times during the day pause for 90 seconds and just invite God to be a part of the next hour of your day. Doesn't seem like a lot but what would happen if every hour and a half you paused for 90 seconds to invite God into the next hour and a half. It will change your day.
Be still, unplugged, distraction free. If that seems hard it's because it is. We live in a distracted world. Trust me, I know. I have 4 children. But find a spot you can be distraction free for 15 minutes, twice a day, just to focus on being present with God.
Try these for the next few weeks. I am willing to bet it will change a lot.