Don’t Take Your Speaker in the Shower

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6)

I’ve shared before that I do not feel comfortable being alone with my thoughts. Extraversion has been a crutch to defend myself from not learning to be contented with my thoughts. I must not be alone because the Washington Post recently offered an article entitled “How to be alone with your thoughts.” Being an extravert is not an excuse for not feeling comfortable with your thoughts. We should expect to become satisfied with our thoughts because the Holy Spirit uses our thoughts to speak to us.

The Washington Post article states, “But ‘just thinking’ seems difficult, and many people struggle with being alone with the person they are with the most: themselves.” It is too easy to distract ourselves from our thoughts. I even have a waterproof speaker to listen to my audio books in the shower. Even good things like reading audio books can be harmful if the motivation is to help us ignore our thoughts. Thuy-vy Nguyen, a professor at the University of Durham, conducted a study where she asked participants to sit alone with their own thoughts for a while and record how they felt. She describes the results of the study, saying, “Participants reduced arousal, and high-energy emotions, both positive and negative, such as anxiety, anger and excitement. Participants felt calmer and more peaceful.”

The results Nguyen’s study suggest that living comfortably with our thoughts is beneficial physically, emotionally, and, I would add, spiritually. Yet, even though being alone with our thoughts is something our minds nurture from birth, many of us are not good at living within ourselves. Yet, being alone in our thoughts is something we can learn to enjoy and become comfortable experiencing. Being alone effectively is vital to nurturing our faith life. Distractions divert us from the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Today, emotionally and spiritually, commit to confronting yourself and the thoughts you face each day. Turn off the waterproof speaker in your shower or any other distracting crutch you use, and just think and even daydream a little. Once you feel comfortable with your thoughts, you will enjoy yourself more. You might even begin to laugh at your own jokes and appreciate your turn own of phrase. In this positive mental environment, the Holy Spirit will not have to shout to get your attention. Soon, you will feel as comfortable with God’s voice as you do with your inner voice.