Solitude and silence are elusive commodities. But sometimes we need silence to hear God’s voice.

When I was a young mom, the thing I craved more than anything was to be alone. An introvert at heart, I draw energy from time by myself with a good book.

But in the days of babies and toddlers time alone was a rarity. Kids were always hanging onto me, sitting on my lap, even insisting on following me into the bathroom.

Lately I’ve been reading about solitude and silence. Richard Foster, the author of The Celebration of Discipline, writes:

Solitude is more a state of mind than it is a place…There is a freedom to be alone, not in order to be away from people but in order to hear the divine Whisperer better.

This world has so much noise. Music blaring. Car horns honking. Phones ringing. It is hard to find a place where it is quiet enough to  hear the Divine Whisperer.

The world demands our attention. Work responsibilities summon us. Family members need our time. Even church activities call for a place in our schedule. It is hard to concentrate on the Divine Whisperer.

So sometimes we need to get alone to hear God speaking. We need silence to hear God’s voice. Remember the story of Elijah on the mountain? The Lord told Elijah:

“’Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11-12).

God told Elijah to go and be alone in the presence of the Lord–alone so He could hear the gentle whisper.

God is, of course, always with us. We are always in His presence. But sometimes we need to find a quiet place in order to sense His nearness.

I encourage you to find sometime today to be alone in God’s presence.

Sit in a quiet place, still your thoughts, and tell God, “I’m here.”

Speak to Him about all that it is in your heart.

Listen for His gentle whispers of love.

Next step: Make an appointment with God. Find a way to get alone–ask your husband to watch the kids, get a babysitter, go outside in your backyard and sit in the shade for an hour. Open your Bible and hear God whisper to your heart.