In the mid-1960’s Paul Simon wrote a song that became popular entitled “The Sound of Silence”. If you are old enough, you may recall it being played on pop radio stations back then. The lyrics paint a dim view of silence and perhaps reflect what causes us to feel uncomfortable with silence many times.
Before you dispute experiencing discomfort in the midst of silence, consider times when you are with a friend or small group and it suddenly gets silent. Most often someone (or you) feel compelled to fill the silence with words. Only in the most intimate relationships do we tend to relax with periods of silence. It is in those relationships that we feel safe, secure, relaxed, and assured of the love of those persons.
How do we respond to silence in our spiritual life?
When we very much need or want to hear from the Lord about something and He appears to remain silent, we all can struggle with His delayed response. We want the reassurance of His presence even if He is not giving us the solution we desire.
But what does it feel like when you sit with the Lord? Are you at ease being silent or does it feel more comfortable to keep speaking to Him whether in prayer or a journal? For many of us, silence when we are with the Lord can feel awkward or even frightening. We are wired to doing in our relational connections with people and also with God.
When we are sitting in silence with the Lord we can have two competing fears assail us. One…He will not speak to us. Two…He may speak to us.
But there is also something else that sitting in silence awakens in us. We begin to get in touch with the noise inside that our busyness drowns out much of the time. Silence can shock and overwhelm us with the amount of cacophony happening within us; then again we can begin to discover more about ourselves. We might learn what is making us so irritable or feeling so isolated and disconnected.
Sitting in silence means discovering how tired we truly are. It means setting aside our agendas for a bit to allow ourselves to experience a deep breath and consider what would nourish us again.
I love the quote I ended my recent post with by Gunilla Norris in Sharing Silence:
“When we make room for silence we make room for ourselves…Silence invites the unknown, the untamed, the wild, the shy, the unfathomable – that rarely has a chance to surface within us.”
When we sit with the Lord in silence, we allow Him to lead.
Perhaps we fear that more than we realize because it means letting go of what we think our relationship ought to be and letting Him make it into that level of intimacy that can only happen when we allow Him to lead.
Be assured to choose to sit for even ten minutes in silence with the Lord will be a battle. Depending on how tired we are and what season we are in, we may find it harder to do than we expect. Even so, I think He is often waiting for us to do just that…sit with Him without praising, petitioning or pleading.
After all, if we are His, we are betrothed to Him as a part of the Bride of Christ. If you have known intimate human love, it was not hard to sit in deep contentment with that person and have no need to fill the space with words. Should it not be true when we are with Him? He is the lover of our soul and companion as well as Savior, Lord, King of Kings, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Son of Man.
In her book Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence Ruth Barton says it best:
“Solitude, then, is all about desire. It is about lovers desiring each other enough to finally take the leap into trust, uninhibited expression. It is about friends saying, ‘I want to be with you so badly that I’ll rearrange everything so that we can see each other.”
I love silence! Maybe because I teach all day. The older I get, the more comfortable I am with silence and stillness. Being out in nature by myself is one of my favorite things to do, because I can listen–for the wind, for animals, for birdsongs, and for the voice of God whispering his love to me.
I am smiling as I recall the 15 years I spent teaching. I also agree about the sense I have as I get older of the wooing of the Lord to come and simply be with Him. Being in nature is also a favorite of mine. You might get that sense from the times I include photographs I have taken of some of the places and things that inspire me.
I was just how reading that the root word for still in Hebrew is rapha / healing. All these are good words for study, rest. quiet. still and silence. I like the sound of silence.
Thanks for sharing that.
What an interesting thought, Pam. Sitting in silence in His presence because that’s where we are in our relationship. I love that. Thanks for that fresh insight today. 🙂
Check out the follow-up post today: http://pamecrement.com/2018/02/02/sitting-in-the-midst/ ❤️
This sounds amazing! I agree about the silence, sometimes we need to just take a break, to hear nothing. 🙂
One time when I was broken and bruised and trying to figure out how God was working the only verse that would come to mind was Be still and Know I am God. Alone in the quiet is not a bad thing to do. #thoughtfulthursdays
Wow! I identify with that!! Thanks for sharing!!🌹
Oh this book discussion sounds so good! I wish I was not committed elsewhere right now with reading, but I am definitely going to keep listening in on your comments here, Pam. Thank you so much for sharing!
I think when it comes to our relationship with God we tend to equate His silence with inactivity. but that’s not the case. God is always working behind the scenes to bring about His will and we must learn to believe that truth and not wait for our senses to lead us. Thanks!
I agree, Karen, and that is definitely not the case. I concur with what you have shared here. Thanks for taking time to share it with me!💕
I’m so curious about Ruth Barton. I listen to her podcast sometimes, so I guess I”m going to have to eventually read something whole
And my husband and I call it “companionable silence.” This is something I cherish with him, and it’s also something I’m working on developing more of with God.
She is new to me, my friend. I had not hear her speak nor read any of her books until I jumped into this one that Linda Stoll spoke about as the center of her discussion group.
I like that phrase “companionable silence”. I think it fits very well! It reflects the intimacy and personal relationship I think the Lord is inviting us to experience with Him. (You’ll see a bit more of my thoughts on that in tomorrow’s post.)
Looking forward to gleaning more of your wise observations during the Book Open House, Pam!
I’m on a roll with this great book…my post tomorrow is more from my reflections💕 Thanks for introducing it to me!!
I’m participating in the book study on this with Linda Stoll, so I’m assuming you are too, Pam. Correct? I read the first chapter and have yet to read the second, but I’m intrigued with her thoughts and yours here as well. It will be a great experience! Thanks for sharing! I’ll be sharing too!
Yes, I am as well, Beth! This is my first introduction into Ruth Haley Barton’s books. I have read a bit further due to some upcoming travel plans and it’s given me grist for a couple of more posts as well as much to reflect on. I’ll look forward to your sharing!😊
You guys are going to make these conversations top notch! See you tomorrow …
This blessed me today! I’ve read all of Ruth Haley Barton’s books, but it’s been awhile since I’ve contemplated the value of silence. I needed this today! Thanks for speaking truth!
Thank you! This is the first book of hers that I have read and I am enjoying it and reflecting a great deal on her words and the applications I can make in my own faith walk.💕