In A World That's Always Shouting

We live in a world full of noise. The noise in the world isn’t necessarily noise that you can hear though. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s what your friends, family or coworkers are saying or doing that influence how you think. Other times it’s the lyrics in songs that you hear that are impacting you or something you watched. Noise doesn’t have to always be verbally spoken though. Sometimes noise can be the headlines on a magazine or the images of celebrities or models that you feel like you have to measure up to. Buy this and you’ll have that. Everything is always about an upgrade to a better you, or a you that will get you the most approval at least. Noise can be found on social media sites. The second we hit our Facebook homepage we may find ourselves playing the compare game or allowing our egos to be boosted by the number of notifications we have received. The same goes with Instagram or twitter. It’s so easy to be so consumed with everybody else’s life that you forget how to make the most of yours. And I’m not talking about spontaneous adventures, seeing the cool building in the city or perfecting your strawberry blueberry smoothie so it can be Instagram worthy. I’m not talking about making a better you so that the world can give you their stamp of approval and you can keep looking good on the outside while on the inside you might not be looking too good.

See, it didn’t occur to me how much I let noise clutter my summer until this morning. As I gathered my breakfast together and poured myself a cup of tea, I began to open a letter I had recently received from a friend. I turned the envelope over and something in the corner immediately caught my eye. My friend had written Psalm 116:2. She wrote, “Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” Wow. As long as I am breathing, I should pray. The urgency in David’s words is clear in his tone. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I am living. I thought about how usually the first thing I do in the morning is at times is force myself to sit up at the sound of my alarm, go get my breakfast together and turn on the TV while I eat breakfast even if it's just for 10 minutes. I never thought to pray immediately the instant I wake up. I figure I have to wake up more before I can pray. Yet, David speaks urgently about praying and makes prayer as necessary as breathing. Whoa.

I finished the letter and then for a change did not instantly turn on the TV. I sat in what was complete silence but the sound of the spoon hitting my bowl or the Mason jar with tea being set down on the table. It isn’t until you realize how much noise you’ve put in your life lately, that you see how refreshing it can be to spend even just 6 minutes of silence. My friend left me with a challenge this morning as I read that Psalm, that I want to leave with you today as well. Spend time in silence. Spend time in prayer. Make prayer as necessary as breathing. Pray the moment you rub the eye crusts out of your eyes and force your eyes to open. It doesn’t have to be 30 minutes or even 10. Simply, thank God for the day and acknowledge Him. If we’re going to be living in a world full of noise, we need to make sure we start our day listening to and acknowledging the One who can tune out the noise and speak truth into our lives. Want to make the most of your life? Start with praising your Creator the moment you wake up. I promise you won’t regret it.