"Hear the Silence"

During a prayer meeting, our group decided to explore the practice of training ourselves to be silent. We all failed in the past on our own, but we decided to use our time as a group to experiment with using an opportunity to be still before the LORD. We wanted to see how this would strengthen our prayers and our connection as a group. Silence is important, because there is so much that can be revealed in that time. “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth (Psalm 46:10).”

We dimmed the lights, closed our eyes and became silent. Few words were spoken in prayer. I became very aware of my senses. I listened to the cars outside, which made me think of all the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. People who could hear the Word. I also saw a lot of imagery. It is very appropriate to visualize verses in the Bible. When I was silent, I was able to see an image with Psalm 61:1-4, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” I could visualize being cradled by my Creator. I often try to feel this, and when we were silent, this image became more apparent to me.

As we were silent, my mind surprisingly did not wander. In the past when I have tried this, my mind would jump to things I had to do that day or fixate on pointless worries. This time was different, and I feel very strongly that power lies in numbers. Being united in a group, created a support to help us individually seek the silence. This allowed our group to find a more personal meaning to the verse, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20).”

As I drove home that night, I felt renewed. I reached for the radio to turn up the volume in the car, but instead I ended up turning it off. I decided to drive home in silence, because I wanted to carry on that beautiful feeling that we had just experienced. Practicing silence can be a challenge, but using the support from others can make it attainable and easier to accomplish on our own. “Let all the earth be silent before him (Habakkuk 2:20).”