Unanswered Prayer: Too Noisy

On Sunday, our family went to the circus at AllState Arena near O'Hare Airport.  Our daughter, Abby, was fascinated with the planes flying overhead.  They came over so low it seemed like you could almost reach up and touch them. 

Everything was good, that was until we got out of the car.  As soon as we got out of the car and the first airplane came over, she covered her ears.  "Daddy, I don't like it.  It's too loud."  The plane was so loud passing over our heads, you could not hear a thing.

Life if filled with noise.  Sometimes it is the audible noise we hear with our ears, but often times the noise is the busyness of all that we've got going on.  It is easy to get distracted from God and his Word.  I know that there are times when I am reading the Word or I am in worship that I have so much racing through my mind that I fail to hear the still small voice of God.

Noise might come in the form of worry or anxiousness.  It might come in the form of passion (if we are passionate for the wrong thing).  Noise takes our focus off of where our thoughts ought to be directed and shifts them towards things that are not of ultimate importance.

A hobby that I enjoy is digital photography.  When taking pictures in low light your photos will often develop a certain graininess to them.  The technical term for this graininess is "noise."  The noise in the photo will make the image less clear.

In much the same way, the noise in our lives will render God's vision for us less clear.  It is up to us to get rid of the noise and to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us.  God's Word tells us, "Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10

Maybe that's the reason you don't hear God's answer to your prayers - you have too many distractions.  So what can you do to eliminate some of those distractions today?

On a final note, don't forget Thanksgiving Eve Worship is next Wednesday at 7pm.  Hope to see you there!

Readings for next week:

23	Ezekiel 45:13-46:24 1 Peter 1:13-2:10 Psalm 119:33-48 Proverbs 28:11		24	Ezekiel 47:1-48:35 1 Peter 2:11-3:7 Psalm 119:49-64 Proverbs 28:12-13
25	Daniel 1:1-2:23 1 Peter 3:8-4:6 Psalm 119:65-80 Proverbs 28:14		26	Daniel 2:24-3:30 1 Peter 4:7-5:14 Psalm 119:81-96 Proverbs 28:15-16
27	Daniel 4:1-37 2 Peter 1:1-21 Psalm 119:97-112 Proverbs 28:17-18		28	Daniel 5:1-31 2 Peter 2:1-22 Psalm 119:113-128 Proverbs 28:19-20
29	Daniel 6:1-28 2 Peter 3:1-18 Psalm 119:129-152 Proverbs 28:21-22