Focus (Episode 5 - Archive)Focus (Episode 5 - Archive)
Relational Recovery
Wes Thompson and Austin Hill talk about using silence, prayer and focused reflection to slow down, meet difficult thoughts, and deepen Christian recovery. They offer a simple journaling exercise and discuss how this kind of stillness can reshape relationships and a person's experience of God's love.
7:01•22 Oct 2026
Finding Focus: Silence, Prayer and Slowing Down in Recovery
Episode Overview
- Slowing down in moments of trouble can help people remember God's care and gain clarity about their struggles.
- Silent time with God, without a clear task or agenda, may reveal patterns that affect other relationships.
- A simple practice of timed quiet, journaling significant thoughts and then praying over them can surface important issues.
- Creating space for stillness can initially feel stressful but may become relaxing and grounding for many people.
- Doing this "hard but important" work can clarify how a person experiences and gives love, including God's love.
“This is difficult, but it is important, valuable work. And the only person who can choose to do that is you, but it's definitely worth it.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This instalment of Relational Recovery turns the spotlight on a surprisingly simple yet challenging tool: slowing down and sitting in quiet with God. Host Wes Thompson and co-host Austin Hill talk candidly about how most people speed up when life gets hard, rushing into reaction and activity.
Instead, they put forward prayer and silence as a way to remember "there's a God who loves me more than I love myself" and to create space for honest reflection about unwanted behaviours and painful emotions. Austin speaks directly to Christians who find silence with God pointless or uncomfortable.
He suggests that if someone thinks it's a "waste of time to sit and be in silence and just be with God without a measurable purpose," that reaction might reveal deeper struggles around intimacy and presence in other relationships too. The idea is simple: God "just likes being with us," and learning to sit with God can change how a person sits with others.
Wes offers a very practical exercise: grab a notebook, pen and possibly a Bible, find a quiet place, set a five- or ten-minute timer, and simply sit or walk. As significant thoughts or memories surface, jot them down briefly, then later pray over them. These might be fears about family, regret from the past, childhood memories, or big upcoming decisions. The aim is to notice what surfaces in the quiet and bring it to God.
Austin closes by reminding listeners that this kind of stillness can be stressful and hard work because it brings up what people often try to avoid. Yet, as he says, "this is difficult, but it is important, valuable work" that can add clarity to identity, relationships and how someone experiences God's love. If you're curious about how silence, prayer and focus might shift your recovery journey, this conversation offers a gentle nudge to slow down and try it for yourself.
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