It has been said that God gave us two ears and only one mouth because he intends for us to listen more than we speak. Although I don’t know that this was God’s design plan, I do know there is some wisdom in the adage. In fact, spending time in silence is a discipline that can be used to strengthen our relationship with our Lord.
We need to ask ourselves, “When is the last time I spent time without any noise or distraction in my life? When have we left a margin in our day where God could get a word in edgewise if he wanted to?” Cindy and I were doing some shopping yesterday and I noticed the number of people who had earbuds in. These were not just people walking alone, but some were with others. This need for constant noise is keeping us from a gift God wants to provide for us, the voice of his Holy Spirit.
There are many good reasons for shutting down the noise, getting away from the commotion, and just be silent. Habakkuk, one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament reminds us of this truth in 2:20, “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” The Apostle John echoes the importance of standing silent before God in Revelation 8:1, “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Standing in silence before a king is a means of showing honor and respect. It shows a sense of awe and amazement of their majesty. It shows that I understand that I have far more to gain by listening to the King than I would from expressing my own words to him.
Silence gives us the opportunity to eliminate our expectations of how God should act in our lives and opens the door for him to do what he sees best when he chooses to do it. After his battle with the prophets of Baal, Elijah is pursued by Jezebel who wishes to kill him. In his fear, he cries out for God’s help, even proclaiming that he is the only person alive who is still faithful to the Lord. Read the instruction God gives to Elijah in answer to his cries. 1 King 19:11-13, The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Had Elijah continued to complain he would have never heard the quiet whisper of God’s reassuring answer.
This is not a difficult discipline to master. All that is needed is a decision to turn off the noise in our life and wait. The TV may need to go off. The earbuds may need to come out. We may need to simply be quiet and quit talking long enough for God to get in.
WARNING! You may not sense God’s voice each time you spend in silence. This does not signify failure. You may just need more practice to learn how to discern God’s whispers if he chooses to communicate in this way. Don’t give up. You may also need to practice longer sessions of silence. An absence of external noise does not always mean the absence of the noise in our minds. Silence requires us to shut down those concerns of the day or the worries over things we cannot control anyway. We may need time to let the mind clear. This is not an absence of thought, but a focus on the person and character of God. It’s like looking someone in the eye when you are listening to them. It allows us to concentrate on what they are truly saying. You might just learn to like silence as you reap the benefits God has through it.