Recap:

Last week we talked about Elijah – about how God sometimes pulls people into the wilderness, not to punish them, but to meet them. I reminded you of that firefighter from Alaska who walked into the Australian Outback for 42 days. No GPS. No noise. No support. And somehow, in the middle of that silence, he said he encountered the radical love of God.

And I’m trying to get us to feel the weight of this – we don’t live in a quiet world.

We live in a loud one.

So I asked you to do something simple – “If you’ve got a phone, pull it out and hold it up.” And the moment you did, it was like we could see it. Not just a device – a symbol. A constant stream of voices, opinions, reels, breaking news, texts, notifications, podcasts, YouTube, TikTok… noise. All day. Every day.

Then the stats hit, and they weren’t just interesting – they were revealing.

We check our phones constantly. We spend hours on them. Most people admit they’re addicted. And what really got me was this – people know using it less would help their relationships… and they still won’t stop. We scroll the height of the Statue of Liberty every single day. And even if you’re thinking, “That’s not me,” the bigger picture catches all of us – Americans are averaging over twelve hours of screen time a day across devices.

And that’s the point.

We’re not just distracted people.

We’re spiritually crowded people.

Our hearts are full, our minds are noisy, our souls are restless – always reaching for the next thing, the next hit, the next voice. And I’m telling you, that kind of noise doesn’t just steal your attention – it slowly chips away at your spiritual life. It crowds out the voice of God.

That’s why I’m calling our church into a wilderness fast – from March 1 through March 30. Not because technology is evil. Not because phones are “bad.” I love technology. But I’m saying this: if something is shaping your appetite, steering your emotions, training your thoughts, and turning your heart – then you can’t pretend it’s neutral anymore.

So I challenged you with two simple lanes:

Fast something that feeds your body – a meal, a day, a rhythm.

And fast something that feeds the noise – social media, Netflix, nonstop news, endless scrolling – whatever it is for you.

Because for some of us, we don’t just use our phones – we cling to them.

And that’s where Solomon comes in.

Solomon starts strong. He begins with humility, like a child saying, “God, I don’t know what I’m doing.” And he prays one of the best prayers in the Bible: “Give me a listening heart.” A shama heart – not just hearing God, but obeying God. A heart tuned to the voice of the Lord.

Then Solomon writes, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Guard it.

Protect it.

Because what gets into your heart doesn’t stay small – it sets your direction.

But Solomon didn’t guard his heart.

Slowly, subtly, he filled his world with noise. He collected what made him feel powerful. He accumulated more and more – horses, wealth, wives – and the Bible makes it clear: the issue wasn’t just the stuff. The issue was trust. Horses weren’t “hobbies.” They were military might. Security. Control. And God had already warned future kings, “Don’t build your life on that.”

But Solomon did anyway.

And the turning point is that one haunting line: “Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.”

That word “insisted” – it means to cling, to hold fast, to glue yourself to something.

Solomon glued himself to what was destroying him.

And that’s where it got personal, because some of us are doing the same thing – not with horses and chariots, but with notifications and algorithms. Ding, ding, ding – all day long. We act shocked that Solomon had 700 wives, but we carry 700 little interruptions in our pockets. And we don’t even realize how deeply attached we’ve become – not just physically, but emotionally. The validation. The dopamine. The comfort. The distraction. The control.

And while we might not bow down at the altar of ancient idols, the truth is still the same – whatever competes for your affection will eventually shape your worship.

Solomon’s heart didn’t flip overnight. It turned inch by inch. Scroll by scroll. Compromise by compromise.

And I’m standing here like a pastor who actually loves you, pleading a little: put it down.

Not because I want you to live like a monk. Not because silence is the goal.

But because silence makes space.

And if you remove the noise without replacing it with a greater love, you’ll just go right back to it. A fast can change your routine for 30 days without changing your cravings.

So I’m not just asking you to break a habit – I’m asking God to change your appetite.

That we’d stop craving junk noise and start craving living water.

That something in us would wake up again – like David who said, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You.” Not because it’s easy. But because over time, you discover what actually satisfies. You start with one worship song. A few verses. A quiet moment. And slowly, your soul remembers what it was made for.

And then we paused.

Not rushing into the next thing. Not doing the normal routine.

We bowed our heads and got honest.

“What’s the noise in my life?”

“What am I clinging to?”

“God, change what I crave.”

And I prayed – that the Lord would give us strength to put down what’s been forming us, and to pick up what gives us life. That we wouldn’t end up like Solomon – holding tightly to what turns our hearts away – but like David, clinging to the presence of God.

And some of you lifted your hands, because you knew it wasn’t just “a message.”

It was a moment.

A rescue.

A wake-up call.

And I believe with everything in me that over these 30 days, God is going to meet people in the wilderness – in the quiet, in the discomfort, in the stillness – and He’s going to restore peace. Real shalom. Wholeness. The way things are supposed to be.

So today, we open our ears again.

“God, give me a listening heart.”

And we believe – He still speaks.

Group Questions:

Icebreakers (Pick 2 – 4)

  1. What’s the first app you check in the morning – and what does that say about you?

  2. If your phone sent you a weekly “heart report,” what would it say you love most?
  3. On a scale of 1–10, how hard would it be for you to go 24 hours without your phone?
  4. What’s one thing you used to enjoy that screens have slowly replaced?
  5. When was the last time you experienced true quiet – no music, no scrolling, no talking?

Opening Reflection

Before discussion, read this slowly:

“We’re not just distracted people. We’re spiritually crowded people.”

Sit with that for a moment.

  • Does that phrase resonate with you?
  • Where do you feel spiritually crowded right now?

Scripture Engagement – Solomon & the Heart

Read:

  • 1 Kings 3:7-9 (Solomon asking for a listening heart)
  • Proverbs 4:23 (Guard your heart)
  • 1 Kings 11:4 (His heart turning)

Discussion

  1. What stands out to you about Solomon’s prayer for a “listening heart”?
  2. Why do you think Solomon drifted after starting so well?
  3. The text says he “insisted” on loving what pulled him away. Where do you see that kind of slow drift happen in modern life?
  4. What are today’s “horses and chariots” – the things we trust for security, control, or comfort?
  5. What do you think it looks like to guard your heart in 2026?

Personal Reflection – The Noise

  1. What is the loudest source of “noise” in your life right now?
  2. When do you most instinctively reach for your phone – boredom, stress, loneliness, habit?
  3. How has constant input shaped your emotions or anxiety levels?
  4. Do you think your cravings are being trained? If so, by what?

The Fast – Moving From Habit to Hunger

  1. What are you fasting during these 30 days?
  2. What feels hardest about it?
  3. What do you hope God changes in you through this fast?
  4. What would it look like not just to remove noise – but to replace it with presence?
  5. If God truly changed your appetite over these 30 days, what would be different in your life?

Soul-Level Questions

These go deeper – use as the Spirit leads.

  1. What are you clinging to right now?
  2. Is there something you know is shaping you more than God’s voice?
  3. Do you believe silence could actually be a gift instead of something to avoid?
  4. When was the last time you felt your soul genuinely crave God?

Group Moment – Practice Silence

Instead of just talking about silence, practice it.

Set a timer for 2 minutes.

No music. No speaking.

Invite everyone to quietly pray:

“God, give me a listening heart.”

Afterward, ask:

  • What did you notice?
  • Was it uncomfortable? Peaceful? Distracting?
  • What thoughts surfaced?