Rest: The Secret to Hearing God Clearly

True rest positions us to hear God clearly and recognize opportunities even in challenging times. Finding your "seated position" like Deborah helps you receive divine assignments without burning out.

• Deborah's example from Judges 4 shows the power of being positioned in stillness
• Finding rest doesn't mean doing nothing—it means being intentional about where you spend energy
• Sometimes letting go of good things creates space for the essential things
• Four keys to finding rest: intentional time management, changing your environment, choosing battles wisely, maintaining an active prayer life
• In chaotic seasons, rest becomes even more critical for clarity and discernment
• When you're positioned in rest, you won't miss what God is doing, even amid challenges
• This year requires discipline to stay focused on what truly matters

Join our prayer community on Facebook in the "Come Out of the Wilderness" prayer group or connect with Three Praying Sisters on Thursdays. Visit graceandgreatmedia.com for more information.

Chapters

• 0:00 Prayer for Those Facing Storms
• 0:40 Introduction to Finding Rest
• 2:53 Learning from Deborah's Seated Position
• 6:02 Four Keys to Finding True Rest
• 9:03 Choosing Battles Wisely
• 11:27 The Necessity of Prayer Life
• 14:34 Closing Prayer and Call to Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Good morning y'all. It's Saturday, faith Fuel, and it is a very cloudy day where I am in Georgia. So just really quickly, before I even go into our teaching today, I just want to say a quick word of prayer for those of us who are in the path of the storms that's rolling through the South, southeast, and I just pray that no harm comes near your tent and that you will be protected, that your property will be protected, your family, all of the things and that on the other side of this storm, that you will also have access to restoration if you do get impacted in any way. So just praying for y'all and us me too, that's in the path of the storm. Now we're going to start into today. I've only had one sip of coffee and y'all know I need like two cups. Okay, but one sip so far and we're going to push through. So today we're going to talk about rest and finding rest, and this I think, is really cool, really important, really amazing. All the things I think you're going to find some value in what we're talking about today.

Speaker 1: 1:05

Regardless of what's going on in your life, all of us at some point need some kind of rest, and just for me this week I had to make a pretty tough decision, a personal choice on something that I had to let go of, something that I desired in my heart. The Lord allowed me to, gave me access to it. You know what I'm saying. But I knew in my gut that this wasn't the right time for me to do it, and I was exhausted, I wasn't enjoying it and it was costing me money, y'all, on top of everything else. I'll tell you what's costing me time, money. And I wasn't enjoying it and it was just. You know, it was, it was exhausting me, so I had to let it go. I'm one of those, you know. I see everything all the way through, I'm a top performer, I'm all the things. But this thing was starting to distract me from my day job, where I have a lot of responsibilities, but also distracted me from our prayer ministry, where I have a lot of responsibilities and I absolutely love like this. For me, our prayer ministry isn't a job, it is a passion, it is something that is just like. Of course we're praying, of course I'm teaching, like you know. So anything that comes before that. Also, my family is really important, right, so that's a priority and making sure I spend time with them, and not every meal being an Uber Eats because I'm too busy. You know what I'm saying, like all the things. So I just wanted to just share that with you because I had to. I had to find some level of rest and I was coming to understand what rest means for myself, and I have a sense that a lot of us are like that you know women, where we just want to do all of the things, especially in this year. I keep telling people it doesn't matter to me what chaos is happening around me. There's always an opportunity. God always puts a way out and an opportunity, and it doesn't come easy. But if you're not in a position of rest, you can't see it, you can't hear from him clearly if you're caught up or you're too busy. You know what I'm saying. So I have three things that I wanted to, maybe four things that I wanted to talk to you about, about resting, what that looks like. And again, we're doing life together. We're believers, you know. Together we're learning, living together.

Speaker 1: 3:22

I was in Judges 4. And this is kind of where you met Deborah, judges 4, verse 4 in the ESV version. This is very, very simple and it says Now, deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel, in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. So now, why this is important and what does this mean? What does that have to do with Reshele? It's that Deborah, in order for her to carry out her assignment, she had to be seated, she had to be positioned and she had to be still, and the Lord would send her the assignment right. She wasn't out, trying to scrounge for it, fight for it, manipulate for it. You know what I'm saying? She wasn't out, she wasn't doing all that right, she had to be in a position where she was seated and she was still.

Speaker 1: 4:15

And if we're not careful, if we don't find rest y'all, if we're just like constantly going with every single news cycle and every phone call and text and every social media post, that we're going to burn ourselves out and all the things that we said we wanted to do, this fine year of 2025 is not going to happen because we are so busy and we are burnt to the crisp. Okay, so rest. So so, when I was thinking about resting. I was like lord, I want to be in that position like Deborah, where, where you're sending me the assignments and how I know they're coming from the Lord, it's not burning my candle at both ends, like I'm not feeling burnt out. I'm excited about my career. God has blessed me to minister people on my job, thousands of people. I'm excited about our prayer ministry. God is using us to reach hundreds of people, not just through these teaching, but our prayer. I mean I'm excited and so he's seated already seated me.

Speaker 1: 5:17

This might be something like this for you, where he's put you in a job and you're like, why am I here, lord? And he's put you there to just through your life, that your life, uh, shows as a ministry. You in a job and you're like, why am I here, lord? And he's put you there just through your life, that your life shows as a ministry, you have a business, you're a real estate person and folks meet you at a very stressful time in their lives and they're connected to you because of the peace and the joy that you have and the way that you do your job. If you're a cashier, you know an analyst, even if you're unemployed. Cashier, you know an analyst, even if you're unemployed, how you're responding to this season of loss. You know that God is using this as a way to to draw men to him through you and will bless you, but you have to be in a position of rest. You cannot be overwhelmed. So here are four of the things that I'm doing that I don't know. Maybe this will bless you, help you as we're resting.

Speaker 1: 6:06

Remember, resting doesn't mean you don't actively do anything. It just means that you have to be a little bit more intentional with this time that we have, okay. First one is that is intentional time for yourself. So something that a couple of my girlfriends shared with me yesterday evening. So Friday evening so this is Saturday, right so Friday evening I was telling my daughter and my husband, but we all all three of us did this. We, we came home from work and school, we switched into our pajamas, we found our you know we're lucky enough to have a home big enough. We can all go off into our own spaces, okay, and we wash whatever we want. We had food that was already prepared so folks could eat whatever they want, and we just rested. We needed that time to just decompress from the week and it was fantastic and nobody was hanging on for nothing, nobody was trying to entertain each other. It was just a time period of rest so that we could just breathe. It was very intentional.

Speaker 1: 7:01

My home is set up that way so that if you ever come to my home, it's very peaceful here. Everything is just like that right, so we have a peaceful environment. So, being very intentional about your own schedule. So my girlfriends had told me when I was done work, they just they were taking 30 minutes before they switched from work mode to mommy or wife mode and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna do that too, and it was amazing Just 30 minutes for myself to just decompress before I switch. Right. So that's something being very intentional.

Speaker 1: 7:35

I'm intentional about my calendar. I don't need to meet and talk to everybody, okay, if it's not something that is going to make an impact to the week or my job or this ministry or you know. Then the calendar Again remember this year 2025, is discipline. You have to stay focused. All the things that you had on that list, you know, maybe it was your wishlist for the year or your resolution, whatever you had in January. This is how we're going to make it this year, because it's going to be a tough year, told you all that. Okay, all right. So being intentional with your time.

Speaker 1: 8:05

And second thing is you got to change your environment. So I mentioned about my home very peaceful, but this is a time maybe this is your spring cleaning time, you know, start getting rid of things. You don't need broken things. You know, take them to the trash y'all If there's things that you could give to Goodwill or any charities or anyone you can support right now. Change your environment. Get rid of those things that you don't need, excess things you don't need. There are people who are standing in need, but what happens is you start to change the environment in your home. You bring more peace and calm into your home. You clean your home y'all. Change your bedding, all the things. Even if you're going into an office, you know, take this time, wipe down your desk, like, literally change, like, do a whole renewal.

Speaker 1: 8:46

Change your environment, your environment in your mind, is also what change what you're thinking. If you're thinking, oh Lord, you know everything's falling apart, start changing the way you're thinking. I really fully believe that all things are working out, all things are working together for my good, because that's what the word of God says. So I'm going to believe that, okay, I'm going to believe that before I believe anything on the news, and it's happening for me. And if it's happening for me, trust and believe it's happening for you, okay, okay. So change your environment. Change the way you, um, change the way you operate, change the way you move in your home. Change your environment If you're in a place that's filled with stress and that means friendships too Okay, If you, uh, you know, if you, if you have that one friend and all she does is bring negative and all this is a year to block people and let them go move on. Change the environment, y'all, please, all right.

Speaker 1: 9:37

Third thing is you got to choose the battles that you're fighting. Choose the battles that you're fighting. We are not fighting everybody's battles this year. We are not. This is especially for moms of adult children. We have to rein that in. We cannot put the cape on and fight everybody's battles this year. This is the mind your business this year. It means that whatever it is in your house that's incomplete that you need to take care of, right. Don't let other people's battles become the easy distraction so that you don't have to do what you got to do. I know what I'm saying. Okay, because I'm doing it. I'm doing it too, all right. So choose the battles. You cannot fight everybody's battles. You can't jump on everybody's bandwagon just for the sake of right.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Literally war happening, spiritual war happening around us. You got to let the Lord, god, fight some things out. This is going to be and I told this, told y'all last year, and all the prophets were on the street talking about listen. I told you this is going to be a very challenging year for a lot of people and you have to understand that. But you also have to understand the way God works. God is spirit and some things have to play out right. Before there's joy, before joy comes in the morning, there's a period of pain. There's a process, right, and it doesn't mean that all of us are going to have the same impact. And I just believe that for you, that you will be restored. Everything that the enemy steals this year will be restored. But you have to be disciplined, all right.

Speaker 1: 11:06

So again, choose your battles. And I'm saying choose, that means it's your choice. It is your choice whether you go on TikTok and follow every influencer and do everything they tell you to do and get churned up and mad. And then what's happening in your household? Please, I'm begging you, choose your battles this year. Choose your battles wisely. Ask God what you actually should be involved in, okay.

Speaker 1: 11:25

The last thing is that your prayer life is a must. You have to have an active, disciplined prayer life. I don't mean the kind of prayer life where you just call on god when you broke or you call on god when your kids get on your nerves. You're calling god when you lose your friend, your family or your friend. Don't do that. You have to have an active prayer life.

Speaker 1: 11:44

The reason that I'm really pressing in on rest, uh, and why this is important, is because I have an active prayer life. I'm always praying, right, and I don't mean prayer closet praying. I mean I'm always praying, okay, but I have to be in a position of rest so that I can hear, I can meditate, I can hear from God, right. As I mentioned when I started, I had to let go of something that was important to me, but, okay, I didn't really need it. It was going to make me feel good and look good on paper, but I wasn't. It wasn't really in need, okay, um, don't. Don't try to figure out what it is. Don't don't focus on gossip. Okay, but I had to let go of that because it was interrupting rest and, like I said, I wanted to understand the kind of position that Debra was in. She was in a position of rest, she was poised, she was in place.

Speaker 1: 12:31

But if you're scattered all about and you're burned out, you know doing all and everything, then you're not. You're going to miss God this season, because there is, I promise you. There is a lot of things going on, but not all bad, not all bad. God is still God. He's still blessing us. Y'all. I'm grateful for y'all. I'm grateful for this platform. I feel rested and happy and feel a joy for us, for what we're doing this year. I feel great. I'm praying.

Speaker 1: 13:01

My prayer is that we'll be able to bless a lot of people and show them how to do some things and how to get to the next level. And I'm not talking about kingdom building, where it's a marketing plan. I'm talking about, through these teachings, to encourage you to stay the race and stay focused, stay disciplined and carry out the assignment, even if it was writing a book, investing in yourself, taking care of yourself. So when you come to the end of the year. None of that storm will destroy anything. Those the storm you know will pass over you, won't impact you and even if it touches your, your door or your gate, that God is going to restore you right and again, all things are working together for our good. All right, all right. So those four things really quickly again resting right, being right. So those four things really quickly again resting right, being really intentional about where we spend our time.

Speaker 1: 13:54

The second thing is change your environment, change up your environment. The third thing is you gotta choose your battles right, wisely. Choose your battles wisely. And the last thing is you gotta have a prayer life. It is an absolute must.

Speaker 1: 14:06

Thank you, lord, for teaching us this morning. Thank you, holy Spirit, for reviving me through rest, for giving me the opportunity to speak to our prayer community, our family, our friends. I pray that everyone under the sound of my voice is blessed. Thank you, god. We love you, we trust you, lord, and we know that all things are working together for our good. Change our perspective so that we can see what to do in this season of change. All so that we can see what to do in this season of change. All these things we ask in your mighty name. Amen. All right, I love you. You can find us on the Come Out of the Wilderness Facebook prayer group If you're looking to join a prayer community. We also pray twice a day on Thursdays that three praying sisters. All this information is on the graceandgreatmediacom website, so you can find all of the things there, and we love y'all. No-transcript.