Walking Naked: A Revelation in Stillness
“For as long as I can remember, my walks have always been accompanied by something—worship music, a podcast, an audiobook. A constant stream of noise, albeit good noise. But this time, I had nothing. No distractions. Just me, the open air, and (unintentionally) silence.”
You know that terrifying moment when you wake up from a dream where you’re running down the street completely naked? That sheer panic, the desperate search for cover, the overwhelming what just happened?! feeling?
Well, that’s kind of how I felt the other day when I stepped outside for a walk and realized… I had forgotten my headphones. And my phone.
For as long as I can remember, my walks have always been accompanied by something—worship music, a podcast, an audiobook. A constant stream of noise, albeit good noise. But this time, I had nothing. No distractions. Just me, the open air, and (unintentionally) silence.
At first, I considered turning back. How could I walk without something to occupy my mind? But I felt a nudge to keep going, and that 30-minute walk became one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had in a long time. Without the usual distractions, I finally canceled out the noise—not just external noise, but the cluttered thoughts, to-do lists, and pressures that tend to fill every available space in my mind. And in that quiet, I felt a deep, undeniable sense of God’s presence.
I started to meditate on P-R-A-Y:
P – Praise: Before anything else, I worshipped Him—not with a song in my ears, but with words from my heart. I took in the beauty around me and let my soul recognize the Creator behind it all. I praised Him for about 15 minutes, and it felt so good!
R – Requests: Instead of rushing through a list of things I wanted God to do, I surrendered them one by one. I laid every prayer request before Him, trusting that He already knew what I needed. I took time to reflect on specific prayers—for my family, friends, career, company, and situations where I needed God to intervene. I laid it all before Him.
A – Affirmation: I took time to affirm who God is—faithful, good, and sovereign. I reflected on what He’s already done in my life and let gratitude flood in. As I thought about every miracle I’ve seen recently, I was in awe of how many there were—big and small!
Y – YES!: I asked, Lord, what do You want me to do? I asked Him to open my eyes and ears, and I responded with one word: YES. I have never heard God speak so directly to me as I did in those moments. Not through a song, a sermon, or a book—but in the stillness of simply being with Him.
I realized something that day: Sometimes, the best way to hear God is to turn down the volume of everything else, to walk “naked” from distractions—open, available, and ready.
So maybe it’s time to take more walks without noise. To listen more than we speak. To sit in stillness and trust that God isn’t waiting for us to fill the silence—He’s already there, waiting to fill us.
When was the last time you truly canceled out the noise? Try it, and let me know what you hear.
xo,
brit
Brit’s Book Recommendation: The Purpose-Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For by Rick Warren
