Photo from Reba McEntire’s Instagram

This Life Change Helped Reba McEntire Hear God’s Voice

By Movieguide® Contributor

Country legend Reba McEntire shared an incredible encounter she had with God after stepping back from her busy life and embracing the quiet and the still.

“We are of the species that we can take, we can take, we can take, and we want to be active — do all we can — but there is a certain point where you hit that wall,” McEntire told Drew Barrymore. “So when I am still, I can regenerate and recharge my battery.”

It was in this space that McEntire found the Lord speaking to her and guiding her to create a song that pointed back to Him.

“I got into that little bubble, that little sanctuary where you can go out and feed the donkey and the longhorns and the horses and see the cats and walk the creek. That just refuels my spirituality and grounds me with nature,” McEntire said.

“You hear the birds and then you appreciate and then you get to see God’s beauty and God’s wonderment, but the best part is you get to hear what God’s trying to tell you,” she continued. “The greatest thing happened to me; one time I was out walking, and I was talking to the Lord and I said, ‘What do you want me to do?’ He said, ‘Pray for peace.’ I just heard it like it was audible.”

“I said, okie dokie, so for the next week I prayed for peace. Then I said, ‘What do you want me to do Lord?’ and He said, ‘Sing it.’ And I said, ‘Well, pray for peace, that’s only three words, I don’t know how I’m going to do that.’ And so it was write a song. And then after I wrote the song, I said, ‘What do you want me to do with it?’ He said, ‘Record it.’ And I recorded it, and it was just the greatest gift to me,” McEntire added. “So, if I had been in the very fast-paced world I live in, I wouldn’t have ever had that.”

While most of us don’t have a ranch to retreat to for our relaxation, McEntire’s story is, nonetheless, a great reminder of the work that the Lord can do when we give Him space to speak to us.

The country star frequently speaks about her faith, admitting that though she wasn’t “raised religious,” faith has become an important part of her life, especially as a touring musician.

“It’s been big deep conversations with Him in the back of a tour bus when I’m bawling my eyes out so homesick,” McEntire said. “I want to go home because I called home and everybody’s in the kitchen and laughing and joking around and I’m by myself with my band members and my crew, but it’s not the same as with your immediate family. So the Lord and my angels were the ones that were taking care of me all the time.”

She’s also gearing up for the release of her new sitcom HAPPY’S PLACE, which premieres on NBC on Oct. 18.

“It’s gonna be that heartfelt, fun, funny, laugh at our silliness. But also, [you’ll] be touched with the heart in our show,” McEntire said.

Movieguide® previously reported:

Country star Reba McEntire is relying on her faith as she hosts this year’s Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards before shooting begins on NBC’s newest sitcom HAPPY’S PLACE.

This isn’t McEntire’s first time hosting the ACM Awards. She also emceed in 2010. During this year’s show, she will return to the stage for the 17th time since winning the Entertainer of the Year Award nearly thirty years ago. During her hosting duties, she will also perform her newest single “I Can’t.”

“I really enjoy doing the awards, so I don’t have any [pre-show] rituals,” she said in an Instagram post. “I don’t have anything that I have to do before I go out except pray. I ask the Holy Spirit to walk for me, talk for me, speak for me and sing for me. And that always gives me the confidence to take that first step and go have a good time.”