Greetings Glen Mar,

While many of us struggle with being quiet, the Desert Mothers and Fathers believed that silence was a discipline that makes space for God to be present. Abba Poemen once said, “The victory over all the afflictions that befall you is to keep silence.” He also said, “If you keep silent, you will have peace wherever you live.” In a world that has never-ending noise, this sounds, well, unrealistic. Yet silence may be exactly what we need.

You know as well as I do that daily life is inundated with noise. Music on the car ride. News in the living room. Notifications on your phone. But there’s more! Beyond the external noise, there is a constant internal noise that calls us too often to question our actions, comment on what went wrong, and offer our opinion. As the Country Music star, Kenny Chesney sings about the problem in his hit song, “Noise,” “We can’t escape the noise!”

The Scriptures and church tradition offer us a different way. Isaiah invites us to “give ear” and listen so that we may live. James tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. We remember that God spoke to the Prophet Elijah not in the wind or the earthquake, but in a gentle whisper. How will we hear God if we do not practice intentional silence in a world of accidental noise?

The spiritual exercise of silence is not about withdrawal from responsibility, but it is about spiritual formation. When we practice being quiet before God, even for a few minutes a day, we can more easily choose to hold our tongues in the moments that matter. We can choose to respond instead of constantly merely reacting. We can choose humility over needing to have the last word. Jesus regularly withdrew to pray in silence and solitude, and out of that quiet communion with God came clarity and courage for the mission ahead. We who follow Jesus are called to do as he did, and seeking silence and solitude is one of the ways we can do this.

So, here is something simple to try this week: set a timer for five minutes a day and sit in silence before the Lord. Open the Scriptures, read a verse, and ask God to help you to listen and hear His voice. Close your eyes. Invite God in. Over time, you will likely find that in the quiet, God has more to say than you would have heard elsewhere.

I’m excited to hear what D.C. Veale has for us in his message on this topic this coming Sunday as the Youth lead both Worship services at 9:30 and 11:00 AM. No doubt, he will have a message on silence and solitude that will encourage us all to take a few moments this week to “be still and know that God is God.”

See you then.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Chris