Is Your World a Noisy One? 4 Reasons to Practice Silence
Our world is increasingly noisy. I’m not talking about the traffic noise we became used to when living in India. Nor the barking dogs and blaring puja chanting…though that was there too. I’m referring to the noise inside our heads. Finding silence is not easy. When we finally can escape external noise, our inner thoughts increase in volume.
Sometimes I find myself saying things like, “Why didn’t I get that done yesterday? I should have worked harder. So and so was distant to me, I bet they don’t like me. Why did I wear that outfit yesterday, I looked ridiculous. Was my message boring? That lady on the front row seemed sleepy….”
Maybe these aren’t the things your inner voice says. I’m pretty sure, though, that it says something the moment you stop and sit still before the Lord. Am I right? We have to learn, not only to remove external noise but to shut down our inner voices too.
The practice of silence and solitude is essential to our relationship with God. Unless we quiet the voices screaming in our head, we will not hear our Master speak. Oh, how we need His voice! His conviction leads us to repentance. His direction leads us to fruitful, meaningful ministry.
When 42 Seconds Feels Like 5 Minutes
We were on a retreat. “Go outside and find a quiet place to sit,” they said. “Try to be quiet before God. Don’t pray. Don’t read your Bible. Just be still.” It sounded easy. It was not.
Finding the quiet bench in the garden of the Catholic retreat center where we had gathered…was not so hard. But I was so accustomed to talking to God. I’d not learned to be silent. Or at least not very well.
I set a timer on my watch. I was going to do this for five minutes.
Concentrating, when my inner voices began to speak, I pushed them away and focused on my breathing. In…out. In…out. Looking at my watch I thought the five minutes must be over. Nope. Only 42 seconds had passed.
Practicing silence is a discipline. It takes time to learn and grow in this habit. Well worth the work to learn, it can bear great fruit in our lives. Silence is essential to the development of our inner life.
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1 Kings 19:11-13 NKJV.
Why Do We Need To Practice Silence?
1) Silence is where God convicts.
I’ve sometimes wondered why it’s possible for Christians, who love God, read their Bibles daily, and go to church, to get so off track. Why do ministers and leaders fall into sin? How are we so easily deceived?
Part of the reason is we don’t take time to be still and silent before God. We are so busy working for Him. There is no space for His Spirit to convict. We do not give room for Him to shine His light on our hearts. This is not only unhealthy, but it is also dangerous.
Daily repentance, cleansing the soul before the Lord, is as essential as brushing your teeth and washing your face.
2) Silence is where God heals.
We live in a broken world and are surrounded by wounded people. Inevitably, we get bumped and bruised as we make our way through life. God wants to heal these wounds. Some are surficial and some go deep. Childhood pain also makes us stuck. We can’t move forward until God touches and ministers to those things in our lives.
I often find myself avoiding silence when I’m in pain. I don’t want to feel what’s going on inside my heart. I’d rather suppress and avoid it.
That habit; working more, and distracting myself with things like TV or social media, never leads to healing. Honestly, nor does praying. I need silence. To sit before the Lord and allow Him to come into that place of pain and touch me. Silence is where that happens.
3) Silence is where God directs.
In John 15, Jesus said, “Abide in me and you’ll bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.” Silence is part of abiding. It’s just being with God, without words. Silence gives God a chance to guide us. Are we on the right path? Are our priorities in alignment with His for the day?
Regularly, when I am silent, God reveals answers to me. Solutions I never could have found, apart from that time of stillness before Him, rise to the surface.
4) Silence restores the soul.
Our hearts were not made for 24-7 noise. Yet the moment we awake, the radio or TV goes on. The noise in our world is relentless. Psalm 23 says, “He leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” The quiet, the stillness, it renews us. Are you weary? Come to Him and rest. Don’t pray. Don’t work. Don’t read. Just rest before Him and let Him touch your tired soul.
A Call To Silence
Start small. Don’t think you need to begin with 20 minutes in silence. Start with two or three minutes each day. Then add to that.
This week, would you take 3 to 5 minutes each day and be silent before the Lord? No praying. Quiet your own inner voice and simply be there with God.
Let us know how it goes on the Missionary Life Facebook group, or in the comments below.