Distraction is an enemy of listening. Our current world is full of distractions, as anyone with a cell phone knows first-hand. One time, during the middle of the pastor’s sermon, a cell phone started going off. Quite loudly. We all looked around, but no one seemed to be rummaging through their purse or pocket to find and silence the offending device. And this was a large church. Finally, the church pianist (it wasn’t me, I promise!) guiltily got up from the pew where she sat, walked onto the stage, apologized to the pastor as she walked past him, grabbed her purse which was sitting by the piano, and sheepishly withdrew her phone to turn it off.
Oops.
How often are we distracted when we try to focus on God! I get it. I have problems with this too. It’s so hard to focus when we can’t see God, we can’t hear Him audibly, and we can’t feel Him. Our physical world is so loud compared to God!
Until it’s not. When catastrophe strikes, the world’s noise dims and becomes a dull, muted roar in our ears. Then we turn to God, even if we have ignored Him all the times when life was good. A ringing phone can be ignored in the midst of a concert, but not when all is silent.
But how can we avoid distraction when things are going along pretty well? How can we focus on God in the mornings when our to-do list keeps popping up in our thoughts (and growing longer by the minute), the children are awake and ready for breakfast, and we’re about to be late for work? Yes, we can get up earlier, while everyone else is asleep. But then we have to worry about falling back asleep. And once we’re up, even without external distractions, our mind spins up to full speed and keeps reminding us of everything we need to do.
There’s no perfect answer for learning how to focus on a quiet time with God. Different people will find that different focusing tricks work for them. Try a variety of methods and see what works best for you. Get up early. Stay up late. Sit in a closet. Hide in the bathroom. Speak out loud when reading the Bible or praying. Go for a walk outside while you pray. Listen for God and know that He is a real person, sitting beside you, wanting to speak to you and call you His friend.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Revelation 3:20