Noise surrounds us constantly doesn’t it? Our day starts off with the alarm going off or your Mom yelling that it is time to wake up. Then it is off to school, surrounded by loud classmates, a teacher talking all day, lunch breaks in a loud cafeteria, back home again and you plug your ears with music from your IPod, a little TV and then the cycle starts all over again. Noise is a huge part of our day! How often is it quiet? When do you break that normal trend of just filling up your time with things?
In this culture that we live in, we are almost afraid of the silence. Think about it, the next time you are in the car with someone, how often do you turn on the radio (Or wish the radio was on) to drown out the silence? It feels uncomfortable. We have trained ourselves to be around noise, or multiple things going on at once. If it is not there, we feel out of place.
I find it funny that during church services, we call for a time of silence for prayer, but then the organ, or a guitar, or something starts playing music. People do not like being in silence! What if ignoring times of quiet are actually hindering our relationship with God? How often do we pay more attention to the music in the background than the prayer time itself? What if we are too distracted to hear Him? Let’s take some time to understand this idea…
Explanation of Silence
A time set aside to be silent shouldn’t be just for the sake of peace and quiet, all though that is good, it should be used for meditation. Of course this is not the same kind of meditation that you see in eastern religions, or what you may see on a tv show. You may think of people sitting around saying, “Ommmm” with the soul intention of clearing your mind completely of any thought. That is not what we are aiming for. One of the words used for mediation in several scripture passages is Hagiyg (hä·ghēg') “Fervor of mind”. This means that we are concentrating on God with intensity. Fervor: Intensity of emotion. That is definitely not just clearing our mind and relaxing in silence! Take a look at these verses about meditation:
Psa 104:34 Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the LORD. (Hebrew word siyach: Speech, discourse)
Psa 49:3 My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will be understanding. (Hebrew haguwth: Thought, meditations)
Psa 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. (Hebrew higgayown: Meditation, or music)
These examples of meditation do not speak about simply falling silent, but about meditating intensely on God. There is an action happening at the same time. “The meditation of my heart will be understanding”, a thought process. So, there is more to silence and solitude than just silence.
Explanation of Solitude
Why would we need to take time to get away? Because there is a need for it. Why do we take vacations? Because there is a need to rest and relax. If we do not pull ourselves away from the business of life we would burn out wouldn’t we? God took time to rest on the 7th day after creating the universe. We need to understand that times of being silent and alone are needed. What’s more than it just being a need, when do we pull aside time to spend with God? If our schedules are too busy for everything we have to do already, what is taking that place of time with God? Having a time of silence and meditation on God is invaluable. It is a need to keep ourselves refueled and connected to God.
Psa 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
Being still in the Hebrew “raphah” means:
1. to sink, relax, abate
2. to relax, withdraw
3. to refrain, let alone
4. to be quiet
This verse is talking about getting away from people, from distractions, and simply spending time with God. It is God telling us to simply relax, be quiet, and know that I am God. I am in control. How many of us use the excuse that too much is going on for us to set aside alone time with God? I will do it later. I will get around to it when I finish my homework, or when I am done studying for this test. The issue is that things never slow down. We do not get extra time in our schedules unless we cut it out and set it aside ourselves. Look at how Jesus dealt with this issue:
Mat 14:23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Mar 1:35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
Luk 4:42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.
Jesus had a lot going on didn’t He? Crowds of people were seeking Him out. They wanted Him to teach them, to heal their sicknesses and diseases. They had legitimate issues that Jesus could cure. In a situation like that, I would feel obligated to stay and heal people. But Jesus, knowing that He could heal everyone and say just the right things, He took time to get away from people. Even when they tried to stop Him from doing so, “the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.” If Jesus thought it was important to get alone to meditate and pray, even in the middle of His very busy ministry, shouldn’t that be something that is important for us as well? Jesus shows us that there is an incredible importance to silence and solitude.
Implications for Us
Now that we know the importance of taking time to be silent before God, let’s evaluate our lives. If you are already taking time aside for God, how much of that time is actually used in silence? Or are you surrounded by noise during that time? Have you found a place away from people that you can call your meeting place with God?
When I was back in Africa, my Mother incorporated “Quiet time” into our home school schedule. She made it a priority to set aside time for God in our busy schedules and showed me that same importance. One of the things I remember most was her giving us Bible verses to study on a small slip of paper. She would have us pull it out of a hat and it would tell us a specific verse to study. Alongside the verse would be a description of a solitary place that we had to find before we could sit down in silence and solitude to study.
For the next ten minutes spend some quiet time with God:
Quiet Time Study:
How often do we rush through quiet times not expecting to hear anything from God? How often do we not even take time to stop and spend time with God?
Psalm 62:1 “My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.” In Hebrew, the word used means “A silent expectation”. We should come to God daily expecting to hear from Him. Otherwise we will miss what He wants to say.
Examine yourself. How much priority does God have in your daily life? What are you going to do about it?
Take some time to pray and ask God to help you set aside time for Him. Ask Him to show Himself to you.
Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
What did God tell you during this time?
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