I consume information all the time. If I’m driving, washing dishes, brushing my teeth, even walking from one room to another, I am almost always listening to something. I listen to NPR’s early morning news roundup. I listen to a whole host of podcasts—news, sermons, Bible nerd material, spiritual healing, political commentary.
But one day in January, I was talking with a friend about how I really needed to listen to God. I had experienced a series of disappointments and rejections, and I wasn’t sure whether to persevere or to take this as a sign to give up.
She suggested that I “fast” from listening to podcasts until I heard what I needed to hear. I could open up more silence so that I could listen for the Spirit.
She might as well have suggested I cut off my right hand.
But I knew it was the right thing to do.
Since that day, I’ve been “fasting” from listening on Mondays. And in all those in-between moments when I desperately want to click play on a sermon or an interview or an audiobook or a news update, instead I pray.
I haven’t heard anything revolutionary. I can only trust that this practice attunes me to the Spirit’s gentle whisper. I hope and pray that it is opening me up to the voice of love.
To read more with Amy Julia:
2021 Fasting Series:
- What’s Up With Fasting
- Fasting 101
- Fasting From Food (Hungering for God)
- The Unexpected Gift of Fasting in Community
- Fasting From Podcasts (Listening to God)
- Fasting From Busyness (Waiting for God)
- Fasting and Justice
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