Spiritual Disciplines | Silence
Words in and of themselves are not necessarily evil. They are a tool, their morality is determine by the craftsman who wields them. Yet, for many of us we struggle with words as being glorifying to God. Sure, we may understand the reasoning behind swearing but our lives still demonstrate an undisciplined lifestyle when it comes to our reliance and dependence on words. We use an abundance of words thinking they will bring us advancement or status. Furthermore, we need a constant stream of intentional noise and communication to fill the void. Our push back from silence shows that we have gotten away from the simplicity that comes from time of solitude and need to return to displaying silence in our daily life.
While silence is an outward discipline, it comes from an expression of the inward disciplines. When we practice prayer and meditation, we arrive at the point of craving the silence for our own spiritual good. The world’s temptation seeks to keep us distracted with a constant stream of noise. God, however, has no intention of competing for our time. King’s do not need to compete. Rather, we must slow down, be silent, and allow God to be the sovereign King he already is. We must slow down and quiet our words to quiet our soul as we refuse to feed our long winded ego. Silence allows the Christian to posture their life to hear God speak throughout the day. We take the silence as an opportunity to slow down, be alone with our thoughts and God’s thoughts in all the messy conflict that comes from the clashing.
Come, behold the works of the Lord , how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:8-11,ESV
A Deafening Silence
When we first begin to practice the discipline of silence, the noise we hear will undoubtedly feel deafening at first. We will want to speak but to no effect. Our temptation will be to assert our thoughts and pump up our own ego and dominance. Yet, practicing silence will remove the noise and distraction from life. Silence involves being still to know that the Lord will still guide and speak. We cannot continue to walk around in fear that God may not speak so that we do not rest or be silence. Instead, we must intentionally pursue silence and allow the voice of God to be the loudest in our life.
- Practicing Intentional Silence Even Jesus looks times to retreat and be in solitude and silence to pray. How much more do we need to do the same. The discipline of silence often times accompanies times of solitude. Solitude differs from loneliness as we pursue the company of God in solitude rather than dull our senses with noise and clutter. Furthermore, when we do so, we must resist the urge to play music or fill the time and space. Rather, as awkward as it may feel, to sit in silence, read the word of God, and pray.
- Praciting Silence in Conversation We all have a tendency to use words to assert our position or our pride. Practicing silence is as much about silencing us as well as silencing the world around us. This is not to awkwardly not say anything but to become cognizant of the words we use and how much we use them. Do speak what is beyond necessary or do we allow our message to shine? When we intentionally practice silence we grow to appreciate the gift of words and seek to use them to glorify God.
When we refuse to use word frivolously and intentional seek silence, we will begin to hear God better and understand the beauty and power of words. When we are limited by the words we can understand the fullness of power that comes from them. God spoke existence into being with words. Jesus is depicted as the “word made flesh.” Words have the power to bind and loose. Yet, all the power of words comes from God and God alone. As we practice the gift of silence we explore the beauty and power of words through our reliance to only need God’s words to sustain and guide us fully.
