Throughნიმუში

We’re not very good when it comes to dealing with silence. Our lives are frenetic, busy, full, and loud. Most of our days are spent surrounded by people, as there are very few of us who voluntarily seek out a solitary life. We’re so wary of silence that we even fill the space between our conversations with television, radio, online videos – anything to prop up our lives with sound. It provides a comforting buzz of grey noise in our heads, which is so much more comforting than having to ponder the deeper issues that confront us each day.

But silence is our friend in the wilderness. We should seek it out and rest in it. The temptation is to fall back on what we’ve always done, and to seek solace in television, music, and the sympathies of others. But if we’re to hear the voice of God and allow him to move us along the paths we tread each day in the arid place, then silence is the way to do so. It’s uncomfortable at first, but as we learn to wait, to rest, to shut out the clutter of life, we start to find ourselves becoming more at ease with silence.

It’s helpful to find a place where one can be alone for a while each day. This may be at home or out walking. It may be a favourite spot in the garden, if such a place is available. Wherever and at whatever time best suits you, try to ensure that this becomes part of your daily routine. At first, your mind may be full of the worries of that day, probably of whatever has brought you to this place in the wilderness, but as the days pass, you’ll find it easier to shut out the concerns that attempt to derail your quiet time.

There are many ways to enjoy a time of silence, whether through meditation, prayer, reading, or even doing some other relaxing hobby or activity you enjoy. What’s most important, though, is to have silence. In this silence – for of course there’s no such thing as perfect silence – you may become aware of the birds singing outside, or of people talking in another room. Perhaps you live in the city, and you hear the steady hum of traffic, or of construction in the distance. Embrace these sounds and enjoy them for what they are. You may even feel led towards a verse or idea from the bible: as you hear the birds out in the garden, you may be reminded of the assurance that just as the birds of the air are provided for, so much more will you be too.

In silence, we’re able to hear. And hopefully, in our intentional listening, we’ll become more aware of the “still, small voice” of God.

This idea of listening, and of seeking God’s voice in the silence, has a reciprocal version to it, too. It’s not an alternative that we like to hear, in our world of quick answers and hasty decisions. It’s perhaps best illustrated by a story about Mother Teresa, which has appeared in a number of Christian books. This version comes from Ron Mehl’s What God Whispers in the Night and it tells of an interview which renowned CBS News anchor Dan Rather conducted with Mother Teresa.

“Somehow, all his standard approaches and formula questions were inadequate for the task. And the little nun from Calcutta, sitting beside him so sweetly and tranquilly, didn’t seem inclined to make his task easier.

‘When you pray,’ asked Rather, ‘what do you say to God?’

‘I don’t say anything,’ she replied. ‘I listen.’

Rather tried another tack… ‘Well, okay… when God speaks to you then, what does He say?’

‘He doesn’t say anything. He listens.’ Rather looked bewildered. For an instant, he didn’t seem to know what to say…

‘And if you don’t understand that,’ Mother Teresa added, ‘I can’t explain it to you.’

The nun’s paradoxical answer seems incomprehensible at first. But it reveals that it’s in silence where we understand something of God’s love for us. It’s in moments of stillness, and of waiting patiently on God, that we start to realise that for all our waiting and longing to know God’s heart, his love and his waiting on us is even greater.

We don’t like silence. Yet it’ll be in that silence where you’ll meet the true God. It’ll be in sinking – tired, exhausted, and broken, no longer in your own strength – into silence, that you’ll find peace and healing. Not through your efforts, but through the lack of them. Yes, there may be long periods where God’s silence and the accompanying darkness will seem relentless, but don’t give up. For in your obedience, in your waiting heart, his silence is listening, is healing, is restoring, as only the God of love can do.

Some thoughts to ponder:

• How difficult do you find it to be silent, either through your personal circumstances or because you prefer to occupy your mind with activities and sound?
• How might you create space over the coming days just to be silent before the Lord and to listen for his "gentle whisper"?