The Ancient Christian Spiritual Discipline of The Noisy Time
Since my son reached 1, I haven’t had a consistent quiet time. So I invented a new spiritual discipline.
For years I practiced a quiet time — the habit of spending the first part of your day with God in prayer, Bible reading and other spiritual disciplines.
In the last two years since my son was born I haven't managed to consistently live this habit.
No matter how earlier I woke up (6am, 5am, 4:30!?!) he seemed to get up before me (or straight after).
At first I resisted and got frustrated but then I had a mindset shift.
What if I try to include my son in my morning devotional time.
Introducing the noisy time
A noisy time is spending time with God while with others or in a moment of distraction.
Like a classic quiet time, it's done first thing in the morning, but unlike a quiet time, you can do it even with others around.
It's not an attempt to replace moments of silence and stillness — they're still important — but suplement them. So even if you don't have a quiet time first thing in the morning, you should look for a time of silence later in the day.
Pratical ideas for your noisy time
Here are a few practical ideas that I’ve used and might help you.
• read the Bible out loud with someone
• pray together for an issue
• pray in your head while doing a mindless task (like washing up)
• Ask God "where are you in this moment"
• Thank God for this moment
If you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them.
Not a replacement for a quiet time
As I write this, I've had two quiet mornings in a row for the first time in over a year. I can't remember the last time I felt so still.
Those quiet times weren't the only factors but they were the main ones.
As good as a "noisy time" is, it's not a replacement for stillness and silence.
But developing this habit out of an effort to make the most out of my mornings has been beneficial in other ways. I've started to be closer to god even during tougher moments.
That's far easier when I start by practicing with silence and focus, but a nosiey time is also a chance to live it out.
Will you give it a go?
If you find yourself unable to have a quiet time, or you want to redeem some difficult moments of your day, why not give it a go?
