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On occasion, I write on the alivebc.com blog. .... My latest post is as follows.. :

Have you ever gone off into complete solitude for a while? Now I don’t mean solitary confinement (TORTURE!) or anything of that sort. Rather, have do you ever take time to just go and be in complete silence somewhere? It almost seems weird in the world of noise-music-talk-radio that we live in today. People would probably go through some sort of separation anxiety if they had their mp3 player removed from their tight grasp or perfectly indented pocket. Necks and ears would feel naked without earphones and their cords strategically in place. Car rides would seem longer without stereo noise. Our hands would be fidgety without our cell phone. Can you imagine?

I was driving home from a meeting the other day and the lyrics of “Forget What You Came For” by The Myriad actually caught my attention. I’ve heard the song multiple times before – both live and recorded. This was the first time though that I was really trying to figure out what they meant. They sing: “quit making noise, and become still for the silent voice, forget what you came for and give up what you have, forget what you came for and give up what you love”.
Silent voice? Who’s voice? Ah… God’s voice. Quit making noise? But I’m praying, aren’t I? I’m praising, yes? Am I? Or am I merely enjoying the sound of my own voice uttering what I wish to be prayer requests. And prayer requests for whose glory? My own? Just so I can say “I prayed for you last night/yesterday/today”, or because that person really was on my prayer list or my heart at that time? But noise? Really?

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” – 1 Cor 13:1.
Ah… yes. Noise.
Have you ever come before God just because you’ve felt like you need to? And just sat there, in silence? It’s hard to do, sitting in silence. The mind likes to wander to various distractions – the day, week, month, year, people, places, things, food…
Okay, back to what I got to thinking about in terms of the lyrics. “Forget what you came for, give up what you have/love”. It was a reminder to me: sometimes I have to just shut up, sometimes I have to just sit and see what God brings to my mind. I have to sit in His presence and give up on my own agenda – my own needs/wants/wishes/frustrations and see what He may want to tell me. Maybe I find myself in His presence with my fists holding tightly to things I don’t want to let go of – of my future, my career, my dreams, my ideal love life. I often second guess the fact that God may have BETTER plans for me than what I think would be ideal. I tend to fear that He will send me to Tijuana, Mexico or the dirtiest place of my fears and expect me to do something outside of my giftings and passions. I know that’s not His agenda though…. We all know that.
Lately I have been sitting in God’s presence with my palms literally open and upward. I don’t want to be holding anything back. I want to trust that God has my life in His palm. I want to sit there and close my mind and all outward distractions so that I can be of pure heart and connect with His heart. I think that it is in these moments that God can honestly bring people to mind that He DOES want you to pray for. I heard it once said somewhere, that if God brings a person to your mind you should pray for them – not dream about them, or wonder what they’re doing (well, you can do that if you really want to), but they at that moment may be going thru a spiritual/physical/emotional battle and need some prayer. If you’re in the right place God may nudge YOU to pray for them – to fire off a legion of angels their way.
Wow. Can you imagine the power in that? All our prayers go before God – Revelation 8:3 talks about them as being offered with incense. Every time YOU pray, you join the army- you join the battle of the Lord.
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Ps 37:7
“For the pagan world runs after all [physical worries], and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” Luke 12:30-31.

God knows what our hearts melt for. He knows what our hearts break for. He knows what we get frustrated about – and He still loves to have us tell Him in prayer. Perhaps though, sometimes we just need to sit and let HIM tell us what’s on His heart for us. Perhaps we just need to let go of all those worries and trust that He is enough to satisfy whatever it is.
Sometimes we need to turn DOWN the worship music and hear God’s whisper that we may be drowning out. Maybe we need to surgically extract the earbuds of our mp3 player from our near-deaf ear and spend some moments listening to His still small voice. [Have you ever been somewhere and the people beside you seemed to be involved in a very private conversation --- whispering --- and your ears were totally piqued. You’re listening to music but you find yourself secretly muting your tunes so you can try to catch onto what they’re saying. It does seem important with all that hush-hush business. That’s the way it always goes… I think we need to press into the conversations of God with that same interest and see what His next move or intrigue will be!]
Maybe we need to put aside our latest and greatest complaints of life and hear God’s greater agenda. The world does not revolve around us after all. It revolves around the Son, er, sun.
So, forget what you came for, give up what you have, or what you love. Listen for His voice. Sit in silence and hear. God may tell you His own secrets. Wouldn’t you love to be privy to THAT kind of information?