Listen for the God Moments

As a Christ-follower, there is a lesson I have learned about God. He is always speaking.

Now, in full-disclosure, I am not always listening. I would like to think that I am, but in all honesty, I know that I am not.

I allow all manner of distractions to get in my way. My distractions range from my wife and kids to television, games, work and a whole host of other things. I tend to think a lot, and every time I pause to focus on God in prayer, my mind races to think of as many non-God things as possible.

I've heard from enough people to know that this probably happens to you, too. Distractions are one of Satan's best tools to keep us from experiencing an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.

But, God requires us to "be still" in order to know Him. There is an element of our relationship with God that calls for us to quiet our minds to the noise of the world, and focus exclusively on him.

Here are a few tips on gaining that quiet time with God.

• Quiet time requires it to be quiet. DUH, right? But, I have found that to be harder than you would expect. If you live on a busy street, even being home alone carries a certain amount of noise. And noise equals distractions.
• Find a place of solitude. Some people like to go out into a natural surrounding. There's something about the beauty and peacefulness of God's creation to put you in the right frame of mind. Other folks might go into a closet, or an unused room in their home. Ultimately, you need to find a place where you can get away from the normal everyday routine, and can focus on God.
• Leave your distractions behind. This might be your cell phone, your briefcase, or your laptop. For me, I find that my cell phone makes it too easy to lose focus, so I can check the latest text message or email (or play Angry Birds). My laptop's wireless connection makes it too easy to surf the web. I sometimes have to leave those things behind in order to focus on God.
• Pick a regular time of day when you won't be disturbed. Everyone needs a regular, uninterrupted and scheduled time alone with God. For me, this works best at 6 a.m. before my wife and kids get up. While I don't have a lot of time, I have enough to read the Bible and pray.

What other tips do you have for getting quiet time with God?