“So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, after Athaliah had been slain with the sword.” (2 Chronicles 23:21, RSV)
In the quiet of a night, a mother woke up suddenly. Something was wrong. Then, from the next room, she heard the soft cry of her newborn infant. She knew that sound of his cry. He needed to be fed.
As Charles White walked down a path in his neighborhood park, he did not expect to hear what he heard. Among the beautiful trills of the birds, White heard the muffled sound of a moan. Following the sound, he discovered a person who had fallen on some ice and had probably broken her leg. If he would not have heard her soft moan, she would have laid there another few hours and maybe even died in the cold of that winter morning.
While settling in for needed prayer time, Darla began to read her Bible. She always read various scriptures before beginning her conversation with God. It helped her soul to ready itself for some quiet prayer time. But that morning in April, Darla could not enjoy her quiet time. Three rooms over, her phone buzzed. Then, it buzzed again. And again. Only then did Darla realize that she had forgotten to turn on the phone’s ringer. Frustrated at the interruption, Darla finally walked down the hallway and retrieved the phone. On it, she read the frightened texts sent from her best friend. Grabbing her phone, Darla said a quick prayer and rushed out. As she got in her car, she called her friend. Within minutes, Darla was at the hospital. There, Darla helped her best friend deal with the death of her child. If it weren’t for the quiet prayer time, Darla might never have realized that her cell phone ringer had been silenced. At that moment of realization, Darla said a quick prayer of thanks. God needed her, her best friend needed her, and God used the phone’s vibration to get her attention.
In each of the stories above, very important noises alerted someone to a need. Sometimes, you need the quiet in order to perceive the importance of certain sounds. In truth, much can be missed or lost when you are surrounded by the noisy distractions of modern life.
“Prolonged exposure to eighty-five decibels or more can cause damage to the inner ear and result in permanent hearing loss and extensive health problems in related areas including high blood pressure. Imagine, then, the dismay of a Lehman College psychology professor as she stood, decibel meter in hand, and registered ninety decibels at an Upper Manhattan intersection. As she crossed the street the rattling staccato of a jackhammer shot the decibel level up to one hundred.
New York is considered the nation’s noisiest city because of a population density fourteen times higher than other cities. Increased traffic, construction, ill-tempered motorists, careless pedestrians, and the constant repair needed in the metropolis promise to make it worse, not better. It is the price paid by those who live and work in the city. Among other benefits denied their city cousins, rural dwellers tend to lose less hearing capability in their lifetime.” (p. 161, The Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations).
As Virgil Hurley included the above anecdote about the noise and deafness suffered in New York City, he reflected, “Prayer offers a busy Christian the quiet time needed to withstand the noisy distractions of life. Too often our spiritual values get buried under the clamorings of family, health, and career. In prayer’s quiet time God energizes our soul with his peace. Then, when times are not quiet, when we stand at the Broadway’s of life, we can express the spiritual graces with which the quiet time equipped us.”
When quiet time with God is missing in your life, the distractions of life can dull your spiritual hearing. When surrounded by the clamor of needs, requests, problems, demanding bosses, and irritated family members, it can be difficult to perceive real needs or danger. Noisy distractions can drown out not only what is important to hear but even God’s voice.
In the scripture reading for today from the Old Testament book of Second Chronicles, we are told about Athaliah. Athaliah was a mean, vindictive woman. She caused the deaths of many faithful people in mid-ninth century BC Judah. With Athaliah wielding power from the royal court, nobody was safe. She even murdered several who were in line to the throne of Judah. She loved power and relished the thought of controlling Jerusalem. Many examples of suffering are attributed to her influence. As long as she ruled, chaos and intrigue and danger and threats were constant in the land of Judah. Even Baal idol worship resumed. 2 Chronicles 23:21 states openly that Athaliah’s death resulted in “quiet” in Jerusalem. Her death resulted in people coming back to God and peace returning to the land.
Have you ever noticed that when some people are around, chaos and problems and obstacles just seem to pop up everywhere? People like Athaliah bring troubles and tribulation and chaos and clamoring with them. As long as people like Athaliah influence your life with their chaos and interruptions and manipulations, your spiritual world will be in a constant state of dis-ease. It will be difficult to perceive God’s voice. It may even be difficult to be at peace in your soul. At some points in life, the only way to find true peace with God will be to back away from such people. To reconnect with your soul or with God, you may have to pull away from bad influences and worldly pressures.
Are there any people or situations that are stealing your valuable prayer time with God? Are there nagging worldly influences that consistently shake up your world? Quiet, holy moments in your day are incredibly important for your rejuvenation and your spiritual awareness. Work hard to keep your soul at peace. Endeavor for real quiet time with God. Your sanity might demand it! Your soul needs it desperately.
As Charles White walked down a path in his neighborhood park, he did not expect to hear what he heard. Among the beautiful trills of the birds, White heard the muffled sound of a moan. Following the sound, he discovered a person who had fallen on some ice and had probably broken her leg. If he would not have heard her soft moan, she would have laid there another few hours and maybe even died in the cold of that winter morning.
While settling in for needed prayer time, Darla began to read her Bible. She always read various scriptures before beginning her conversation with God. It helped her soul to ready itself for some quiet prayer time. But that morning in April, Darla could not enjoy her quiet time. Three rooms over, her phone buzzed. Then, it buzzed again. And again. Only then did Darla realize that she had forgotten to turn on the phone’s ringer. Frustrated at the interruption, Darla finally walked down the hallway and retrieved the phone. On it, she read the frightened texts sent from her best friend. Grabbing her phone, Darla said a quick prayer and rushed out. As she got in her car, she called her friend. Within minutes, Darla was at the hospital. There, Darla helped her best friend deal with the death of her child. If it weren’t for the quiet prayer time, Darla might never have realized that her cell phone ringer had been silenced. At that moment of realization, Darla said a quick prayer of thanks. God needed her, her best friend needed her, and God used the phone’s vibration to get her attention.
In each of the stories above, very important noises alerted someone to a need. Sometimes, you need the quiet in order to perceive the importance of certain sounds. In truth, much can be missed or lost when you are surrounded by the noisy distractions of modern life.
“Prolonged exposure to eighty-five decibels or more can cause damage to the inner ear and result in permanent hearing loss and extensive health problems in related areas including high blood pressure. Imagine, then, the dismay of a Lehman College psychology professor as she stood, decibel meter in hand, and registered ninety decibels at an Upper Manhattan intersection. As she crossed the street the rattling staccato of a jackhammer shot the decibel level up to one hundred.
New York is considered the nation’s noisiest city because of a population density fourteen times higher than other cities. Increased traffic, construction, ill-tempered motorists, careless pedestrians, and the constant repair needed in the metropolis promise to make it worse, not better. It is the price paid by those who live and work in the city. Among other benefits denied their city cousins, rural dwellers tend to lose less hearing capability in their lifetime.” (p. 161, The Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations).
As Virgil Hurley included the above anecdote about the noise and deafness suffered in New York City, he reflected, “Prayer offers a busy Christian the quiet time needed to withstand the noisy distractions of life. Too often our spiritual values get buried under the clamorings of family, health, and career. In prayer’s quiet time God energizes our soul with his peace. Then, when times are not quiet, when we stand at the Broadway’s of life, we can express the spiritual graces with which the quiet time equipped us.”
When quiet time with God is missing in your life, the distractions of life can dull your spiritual hearing. When surrounded by the clamor of needs, requests, problems, demanding bosses, and irritated family members, it can be difficult to perceive real needs or danger. Noisy distractions can drown out not only what is important to hear but even God’s voice.
In the scripture reading for today from the Old Testament book of Second Chronicles, we are told about Athaliah. Athaliah was a mean, vindictive woman. She caused the deaths of many faithful people in mid-ninth century BC Judah. With Athaliah wielding power from the royal court, nobody was safe. She even murdered several who were in line to the throne of Judah. She loved power and relished the thought of controlling Jerusalem. Many examples of suffering are attributed to her influence. As long as she ruled, chaos and intrigue and danger and threats were constant in the land of Judah. Even Baal idol worship resumed. 2 Chronicles 23:21 states openly that Athaliah’s death resulted in “quiet” in Jerusalem. Her death resulted in people coming back to God and peace returning to the land.
Have you ever noticed that when some people are around, chaos and problems and obstacles just seem to pop up everywhere? People like Athaliah bring troubles and tribulation and chaos and clamoring with them. As long as people like Athaliah influence your life with their chaos and interruptions and manipulations, your spiritual world will be in a constant state of dis-ease. It will be difficult to perceive God’s voice. It may even be difficult to be at peace in your soul. At some points in life, the only way to find true peace with God will be to back away from such people. To reconnect with your soul or with God, you may have to pull away from bad influences and worldly pressures.
Are there any people or situations that are stealing your valuable prayer time with God? Are there nagging worldly influences that consistently shake up your world? Quiet, holy moments in your day are incredibly important for your rejuvenation and your spiritual awareness. Work hard to keep your soul at peace. Endeavor for real quiet time with God. Your sanity might demand it! Your soul needs it desperately.