Silence is Golden

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Mark 1:35

We live in a very noisy world.  Our households, schools, and workplaces are filled with the whirring, buzzing, and murmuring of all the people and the multiple gadgets that are around us there.  Have you ever noticed how quiet it is when the power is out?  We have a lot of stuff around us that makes noise.  We buy ipods and MP3 players to strap to our bodies so we can always have our music. We buy video games and portable DVD players so we can be entertained whenever we want.  In silence, we close ourselves off from all that noise. In our modern world, total silence is extremely rare. In fact, what we today call quiet is really only a little less noise.  Have you ever tried to go a long time without talking?  It’s hard.  I find I start talking to myself, out loud.  I can’t help myself.

Scripture reveals Jesus often went off by himself or with a few of his disciples to think and pray.  His example is one we need to seek if we want to try to live our lives more like him.  However, for most of us wandering into the desert or up a mountain is not something we can easily do.   Fortunately, we don’t need to do that to practice solitude.  We need to find the time to be still in the context of the lives we’re living.  We need to find quiet interludes during the day to focus our minds on God.  For example, most people spend time alone driving in the car to work, or on the bus going to school, or running errands.  This is a great opportunity for silence and solitude if you just turn off the music and converse with God in prayer.  While you might initially be uncomfortable since it is so different from our usual world, you may find as you practice it more that it will bring the refreshment of God’s peace (Philippians 4:7).  We come into this peace by training with Jesus in silence and solitude.  Even if life is stressing us out, we can learn to be inwardly silent and go to that place where the Lord can calm our souls and fill us with a deep sense of well-being.  It just takes being quiet with God in your heart.

Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, said, “The purpose of silence and solitude is to be able to see and hear”.  We can more easily hear the Spirit speak to us when our heart is still and silent before the Lord than when we’re rushing about.  It can help us maintain our focus on God continually, to live conscious of God’s presence in each moment as we go about the activities of our day.  How awesome is it that God is always with us?  Let’s try to stop and be quiet and listen to His voice.