September often feels like a new beginning. Summer fades, routines restart, and life begins to pick up pace. For many people, it’s a period where calendars begin to quickly fill – lectures begin, workplaces get busier, group chats explode and inboxes overflow as responsibilities pile high. In all this busyness, silence can often feel like a luxury. Yet one of the most important questions for us as disciples of Jesus remains: how do we hear God’s voice in a world drowning in notifications?
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah finds himself weary, overwhelmed, and afraid. He flees to Mount Horeb, where he witnesses a great wind, then an earthquake, and then a fire. But the Lord is not in them. Instead, God comes in a gentle whisper.
The lesson is clear: God often chooses to reveal Himself in ways that require us to be still and pay attention. While culture celebrates what is loud, dramatic, and constant, God’s voice often moves quietly, calling us to listen more deeply.
A call for disciples to be still
Our generation may be more connected than ever before, but it is also more distracted. The endless scroll of TikTok, the constant pings from WhatsApp groups and the pressure to reply instantly all compete for our attention, making it harder to find moments of stillness. This tension presents us with a choice: to conform to the noise, or to try a different way of living.
I’ve felt this tension myself as a working professional – often promising to read my devotional on the train into work, only to be sidetracked by news alerts, a crowded inbox, or the lure of a quick doomscroll. By the time I reach my stop, the moment for quiet reflection has slipped away. For me it’s a sobering reminder that if I don’t guard these moments of silence intentionally, the noise will always win.
And so, the question I find myself asking is not whether God still speaks, but whether we are willing to slow down long enough to hear Him.
As we see with Elijah’s story, hearing God’s voice does not require dramatic action. Often, it begins with small but deliberate steps to slow down. Here are some ways I have been learning to make space for God in the midst of the noise:
- Digital pauses: Every so often, I step away from the doomscroll and write – either journalling or writing letters to God. It is in those quiet moments of writing that I find the clearest answers to the questions I have been carrying
- Sacred pauses: I take time to acknowledge God’s goodness and welcome Him in. For me, that often looks like closing the door to my room, putting a worship song on repeat, and letting that space become a meeting place
- Scripture meditation — I reflect slowly on a single verse, letting it to speak to me more deeply than a rushed sentence could. Right now the one echoing in my heart is “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)
The distractions of our age may be relentless, but they are not final. The God who spoke in a whisper to Elijah still speaks today – to each and every one of us. The challenge is therefore not for us to do more, but to be still long enough to listen.
So here’s the invitation: as we step into the closing months of the year, don’t just fill your life with more noise. Instead, subtract something – mute a chat, walk without your headphones, or log off of your socials early. Resist the urge to replace that silence with something else. Instead, try giving it to God.
At a time where voices are amplified on social platforms, group chats and virtual spaces, discipleship begins with the courage to be quiet, and the wisdom to be still.