Silence. When was the last time you sat in complete silence? I would venture to say that it’s been a while. If we are truly honest, it is next to impossible to be silent. We live in a very noisy world. Even as I attempt to write this article in reflective silence, it is broken by the sound of my dog scratching his neck, the dryer cycling, the icemaker dumping, and a school bus driving by down the street. Modern western society is simply too noisy. That’s not to mention the noise from our devices: text messages, emails, social media notifications, new podcast episodes to listen to, and the list goes on and on. Sadly, all of this noise is keeping us from going deeper into the one thing that matters most, namely, our relationship with our Creator.
We were created for relationship with the One who made us, and yet we are often too distracted to notice that we are not as spiritually healthy as we might think. (I speak for myself here, this is a deep struggle of mine). In all the noise and busyness of our lives, we don’t realize that we are, as Neal Postman has famously said, “amusing ourselves to death.” Yet if we were to be honest, we like being distracted or at least we’re used to it. Silence scares us. If we slow down long enough to sit in silence we are afraid of what we may find. We may even have to face our struggles, and the sins that we keep at bay deep in our soul. Next we may be afraid that if we sit in silence we will not be productive. Those clothes won’t wash themselves, all those emails would go unanswered, and the school lunches wouldn’t get made. We tell ourselves: “I just don’t have time to sit in silence while there are so many things to do!” It is simply too difficult to be a Mary in a Martha world (see Luke 10).
And yet that is kind of the point. Moments of silence serve as a mini daily sabbath, a period of time where we cease from our duties and simply sit in the presence of the One who is in control of everything. Silence also reminds us, as the psalmist says, “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46: 10). We cannot do this, we cannot be still and know that he is God, if we don’t put down our distractions, and cease from working just for a moment to sit in the presence of God. If we don’t take the time to seek regular rhythms of silence we won’t be able to hear the “still small voice” of God speaking to us (see 1 Kings 19). As Blaise Pascal famously said, “all of man’s unhappiness stems from a single thing, which is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room” (Pensees, trans. A. J. Krailsheimer).
Ways to seek silence
“Abide in me” says Jesus (see John 15). He also invites us, “come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). In order to find the rest that he offers, we must sit in his presence and rest in him. Here are some practical ways to seek silence amidst a very busy and noisy world. Each of these will be expanded in future articles, but hopefully these will encourage you to begin thinking about ways to seek regular rhythms of silence.
Daily. At some point during the day, set aside a minimum of fifteen minutes, or more if possible, and sit in complete silence. Try to be in a place that has as little noise and distractions as possible. If you are able, do this outside in nature (maybe in the woods, at a park, or somewhere with minimal noise and distractions). There is just something about communing with the Creator while being in His creation. Don’t bring a book, don’t journal, or even read the Bible. Simply sit in silence and be in the presence of God. Be still and listen. Just be.
Weekly or monthly. This will be more challenging to accomplish, but it is worth attempting. Once a week if possible, take an hour or two to sit in silence. This will require more planning. Your schedule will have to be accommodated. When the time is secured, go to a park or have your spouse take the kids out of the house, whatever you need to do. Sit quietly for an hour. This will be hard because you will be reminded of the thousands of things that you need to get done. Again don’t bring a book, or read the Bible. Simply sit in silence in the presence of God.
Annually. Take a day, or a weekend if possible, each year for a silent spiritual retreat. Again, this will require planning an effort to pull off, and it may not be possible each year, but it’s worth attempting. More practical ways to do this will be forthcoming. For now, it is something to think about and consider as you seek to implement rhythms of silence into your spiritual practice.
As I mentioned at the beginning we live in a noisy world, and we are encouraged to be distracted. Too many things are vying for our attention. I hope that as we begin this short series on the spiritual practice of silence that you will be attentive and listen to the Spirit. The Lord is inviting you into His presence. Silence teaches us to give our attention to the One who matters most.
“The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habbakuk 2:20).
Photo Credit Unsplash.com
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