A friend of mine shared a notice said to be posted on the walls of many churches in France. Here is the translation:
It is possible that on entering this church, you may hear the Call of God. On the other hand, it is not likely that he will contact you by phone. Thank you for turning off your phone. If you would like to talk to God, come in, choose a quiet place, and talk to him. If you would like to see him, send him a text while driving.
It’s clever, nicely telling people to turn off their cell phones and reminding them not to text while driving. And I like the encouragement to come into the church, choose a quiet place, and talk to God. Of course, we don’t need to go to a church to find a quiet place for talking to God although if you work in a city, and there’s a church nearby, that’s not a bad use of lunch hour time!
The point here is: find that quiet place. Another friend of mine says, “You need to interrupt life to have your time with God.”
I was talking with another friend recently and asked about his time with God. He told me is faithful to spend time with God while he’s driving to work! While reviewing a verse while driving is better, perhaps, than listening to mindless radio, I don’t think that’s the optimal way to spend time with God. (And my friend can drive to work in about 10 minutes, so it’s not even very long.)
I suggested that he intentionally carve out a few minutes at home before going to work. Shortly thereafter, I received this email:
Hey Bob, I used your weekly journal for my time with God today. I think its a good tool and I’ll look forward to sharing it with you.
We haven’t met since then, but it’s clear that his time with God was more meaningful with a few minutes of focused attention at home than while driving.
In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5.3, NIV)
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1.35, NIV)
Excellent reminder!
I did have a nice chuckle about the way the church was telling people to silence their phones.
My morning quiet time with God is precious to me. I started it before our class. After your class, it became more enhanced. It has helped me to grow.
I hope others will find how wonderful the early morning hours are for enriching our souls by spending quiet moments with God.