Tuesday with Tiff: Helping Kids Hear God's Voice in the Quiet

Kids are growing up in a world that has very few quiet times.  

Mobile devices buzz almost non-stop with texts, email, tweets, or phone calls.  24/7 television channels are on most of the time in our homes.  Earphones plugged into ipods pipe music into our ears.  In the car, we have music, the dvd player, or the radio cranking.  The noise of the latest "viral video" coming from our iPad or tablet constantly catches our attention.  The sound effects from video games can be heard for hours a day.  The audio from commercials or advertisements come at us like a flood.

The other day, I was reading the story of God speaking to young Samuel and something jumped out at me.  When did Samuel hear God's voice?  It was while he was lying in the "quietness" of his bed.  In the quietness, he was able to clearly hear God's voice.

 
I wonder if kids would hear God's voice more often if provided them with more quiet?

It's something you will have to be very intentional about in our busy, noisy culture.  

You'll have to teach kids to unplug from the noise on a regular basis.  And that's not easy.  Because we all get addicted to the noise, don't we. 

You'll have to help kids find a quiet place.  Somewhere away from the noise.  Maybe in the backyard under a tree.  Maybe in their room.  Maybe in the living room with the tv and computer off.

You'll have to teach kids how to get alone with God.  Alone is where they'll find the quiet place.  

And the quiet place is where they'll hear God's voice as they spend time with Him.