How to Be Still and Listen to God: 7 Practical Tips
Daylight finds us with an unseasonable chill, and we close the windows and wrap ourselves in fleece blankets. Pulling out my Bible, I flip to a familiar Psalm. It reads, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I’ve been learning how to be still and listen to God for decades and have yet to master the practice.
My mind has been racing again lately, and silencing my thoughts today feels next to impossible.
Instead of being critical of my racing mind, I am kind to myself today. I lean back and let the thoughts pass like clouds in a sapphire sky. Finally, after several minutes, my mind settles.
Silence.
Stillness.
How to Be Still and Listen to God
I glance at the Bible on my lap. A few years ago, I discovered the Hebrew translation of the words, “Be still.” The literal Hebrew phrase is more accurately translated as, “Let be.”
It is an invitation to let our arms “hang limp” or sink into a posture of surrender to God. When we can relax with God in this way, we convey our trust in his sovereignty, which is the precise sentiment beneath the words “and know that I am God.”
God is inviting us to lean into him, let everything else be, lay down the juggling acts in our lives, let our arms hang limp, and let him be God. We let God be God when we open our clenched fists and surrender our desires for control.
We let God be God when we acknowledge that we do not hold our lives together—he does.
As obvious as it might seem, I need to create space to remind myself that God is in charge—and I am not—on a regular basis.
As obvious as it might seem, I need to create space to remind myself that God is in charge—and I am not—on a regular basis. #bestill #encounteringGod Share on XHow to Be Still and Listen to God: 7 Tips
What does it look like to be still and listen to God?
Here are seven practical tips to help us quiet our minds and connect with our heavenly Father.
1. Go to a quiet place and begin by breathing deeply.
This might not sound ultra-spiritual, but we need to quiet our limbic systems if we are going to connect with God.
I often spend a few minutes breathing slowly and deeply to quiet myself.
2. Focus on resting in God’s love.
If we don’t encounter God during our quiet moments of stillness, we miss out on the entire point of silence and solitude.
When I refer to encountering God, I’m not talking about flashing lights, a thundering voice from heaven, or even a warm, fuzzy sense of God’s presence.
Instead, we encounter God every time we let ourselves rest in his love. When you spend time in silence, imagine God wrapping you in his arms as his love washes over you. Spend a few minutes in this space.
You might close your eyes or look out a window.
Again, you are not seeking a warm, emotional encounter. Yet, as you rest in his love, his peace will likely wash over you.
3. Cling to the promise that God draws near to those who draw near to him.
Regardless of whether you have a sense of God’s presence, cling to the promise found in James 4:8. When we draw near to God, he draws near to us.
Friend, God is with you.
He comes to you when you move toward him.
Rest in this truth, whether you feel it or not.
4. Let other thoughts pass like clouds in the sky.
Do you ever feel frustrated because your mind wanders away from God in times of silence?
Instead of feeling frustrated, allow those thoughts to float past like clouds in the sky.
Return your focus to God as the thoughts pass. Also, note that God can bring thoughts that he wants us to address with him. If you sense that a thought is from God, talk to him about it. He might want to reveal something to you.
5. Imagine Jesus’ smiling countenance.
Have you ever asked Jesus to show you an image of his smiling face?
We are told to love God with all of our minds, this includes our imaginations. God wants to sanctify our imaginations so that we can use them to experience his love in deeper ways.
Ask Jesus to show you an image of his smiling face. This image can carry you through life’s most stressful, challenging moments.
6. Repeat a Bible verse to help you return your focus to God.
Meditating on Scripture will help you keep your focus on God. Ask God to lead you to a verse you can speak when your mind wanders. Speak the verse as you return your focus to the Lord.
Here are a few centering verses: Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 231-3; Nehemiah 8:10; John 14:27.
7. Learn how to be still and listen to God beyond your devotional time.
God calls us to go away to quiet places and meet with him, and he wants us to slip away and meet with him in silence. Jesus often slipped away to quiet places to pray, and we should do the same.
However, this is where some of us stop.
We seek God in our daily devotional time, and then we go live our lives and forget about God as we go about our daily routines.
Meanwhile, God has something better for us: He is inviting us to cultivate stillness throughout designated pockets of time within our busy, everyday lives.
What might this look like?
God is inviting us to pursue stillness—space to quiet our souls and connect with him—all day long.
He has provided built-in opportunities for connecting with him in stillness while we drive our cars, stand in line at stores, sit in waiting rooms, eat lunch, and unwind at the end of long days.
Most of us don’t think twice about listening to the radio while we drive, checking our phones while we wait in line at stores, getting caught up on texts while we sit in waiting rooms, zoning out to daytime talk shows while we eat our lunches, and watching the news for “relaxation” at the end of long days.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these habits. Yet these habits can prevent us from encountering God in replenishing ways as we go about our days.
How to Be Still and Listen to God Throughout the Day
Lately, I’ve been learning not to pull out my phone when I’m sitting in waiting rooms or standing in lines.
I’m learning to turn off the radio and connect with God while I drive.
I’m putting away the gardening magazine while I eat lunch.
I no longer spend the last moments of my days reading.
I put the book on the nightstand and end the day in silence with God.
Sometimes, he reveals an important truth during this time. Most of the time, nothing spectacular happens. I drift off to sleep like a child falling asleep in her Father’s arms. I sense my Father’s delight as I rest in his arms—like a little girl resting safely with her Daddy.
What would it look like for you to embrace God-given moments for stillness interwoven throughout your days?
Moments for stillness are woven throughout the tapestry of our days. God is waiting to meet with you in these moments.
Moments for stillness are woven throughout the tapestry of our days. God is waiting to meet with you in these moments. #God #silence # seekingGod #slowingdown #bestill Share on XA Free Devotional Book to Help You Learn How to Be Still and Listen to God:
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