God in the silence
Key Bible Passages: Lamentations 3:25-26, Psalm 23:1-2
Silence for some of us is something that can be hard to cope with, it can be awkward in some situations too can't it, you know especially if you have just said something in a group conversation and no one responds! Sometimes these moments can be called tumbleweed moments. It can lead us to ask all sorts of questions: have I offended someone, have I just made a fool of myself, did I read the situation wrong?
Or sometimes silence can be something we long for, when there is a lot going on in our lives and we just want to get away from it all in order to think straight. I’ve always appreciated the story of Susanna Wesley and how she would take time out. Now she was a Mum to 10 children including John & Charles Wesley who would go on to bring millions of people to know Jesus. But life for Susanna wasn't always straight forward and meant that silence or time to herself wasn’t very easy to come by. She was a devoted follower of Jesus but she had no time for relaxation or long hours in peaceful prayer! She worked the land, milked the cow, educated her kids and looked after a busy house mostly by herself. She did however decide it was important to make space each day to pray. And so to make this happen she would often just sit at the kitchen table or in a chair with her apron over her head and she told her children not to disturb her when she did this.
You see, spending time with God in silence isn’t about going off and finding an acoustically dead space where pure silence can be experienced, but it’s about finding time and space to be quiet and listen to God.
Lamentations 3:25-26 says
“The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.”
We live in a world that encourages us to be comfortable with noise. Some might say even we’ve become addicted to noise. Just think about how much noise we are constantly being exposed to everyday, whether it's what we listen to on the radio or the TV that we watch, the chatter we hear from our friends or other people we come into contact with in our everyday lives and then there is social media and targeted ADs based on our internet search history. A few weeks ago we needed to replace our bathroom sink and so I researched a replacement and ordered one online. Job done I thought but I am still getting ADs suggesting where to buy a new Bathroom sink today! Friends, there is so much noise aimed at getting our attention and before we know it silence becomes a rare thing in our lives and if we're not careful we don’t know how to cope with it.
Jesus knew the importance of making space for silence and spending time alone. He modelled it for us when he was here on earth by often withdrawing to the hills “After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.” - Matthew 14:23, or to a lonely place “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” - Mark 1:35, or to the wilderness “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer” Luke 5:16, or to a high mountain “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night” - Luke 6:12, or to the seashore “As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone” - Matthew 14:13 and even in his final hours before going to the Cross we read that he headed to the Garden of Gethsemane to spend time alone.
Friends, if Jesus thought it was a priority thing to be doing then I think it’s probably safe to say that it should be a priority thing for us to be doing too.
Spending time waiting in silence can be a difficult thing to do to begin with, but it will be ultimately worth it, why? because it provides us with a space to be able to learn to listen to the voice of God after all we read He is wanting to be in relationship with us and a relationship is a two way thing. There are many ways we can develop this relationship, for me one of the simplest ways has always been by spending time reading the bible and hearing from God that way. After all, it's full of answers about who He is and his feelings towards us. Sometimes it’s taking a walk on my own in the countryside or park nearby and letting him speak through his creation can be a way of hearing from Him. Sometimes it’s a thought that comes into my head when I'm just sitting at my desk with my eyes closed waiting on him. Now it's important to be honest with you and say it may feel like God isn’t there but it doesn’t mean we should doubt Him or stop praying. “God’s silence isn’t his absence” as Pete Greig Founder for 24-7 prayer says. Instead can I suggest we see it as an invitation to press in and seek Him even more.
Psalm 23 say this
“The Lord is my shepherd I have all that i need. he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”
You know when you're truly comfortable with a person, it is often possible to sit in a room together and not say a word and just enjoy each other's presence. Being silent before God is opting to enjoy being in his presence and being led by Him.
Questions
To help with further reflection, thought or application.
1: Do you want to hear from God more?
2: How are you going to make space in your life for silence?
Prayer
“Father God, help us find space in our lives to push through and hear from you today. Amen”
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