When I was very young I heard. “Children should be seen and not heard” and “Silence is golden”. Those adages didn’t impress me much, but they sure seemed to please the adults in my life. As I grew older I began to appreciate the benefits of silence and as Abe Lincoln used to say, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” There is debate over who was the first to say that, but it doesn’t really matter, it is still good advice at times.
Along with the importance of silence, I also learned the benefits of listening. The Greek philosopher Epictetus wrote, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Like most people I had a problem listening without being distracted by thinking about what I was going to say next. It took me a while to discover that when I listen carefully I not only learn new things, but I am often reminded of relevant things to say in response.
I wasn’t surprised when God told me, “Be still and know that I am God! (Psalms 46:10) When I pray I seek peace and serenity by making a conscious effort to spend time in silence listening for God’s still small voice inside me. (Not to be confused with self-hypnosis or Transcendental Meditation which are not from God.) As I’ve said many times, if we pray without taking time to listen for what God has to say to us, we are just leaving a message on His voicemail. Our prayers should be two way conversations.
When I accepted Jesus as my savior, I immediately received His Holy Spirit to dwell within me as my councilor, advocate, guide and teacher. Many of my charismatic brothers and sisters have experienced speaking in an unknown language as part of their encounter with the Holy Spirit. They say it gives them a heightened means of communicating with God in that prayer language when words fail them. Up to this point I have not received that sign or aspect of the Holy Spirit, but I experience something similar when I pray in silence allowing the Holy Spirit within me to communicate with my heavenly Father without the need to add my two cents.
Have you spent time in silent prayer before God lately? Give it a try. Ask Him for help and then patiently wait for His response. You probably won’t hear an audible voice, but you will know in your mind and feel in your heart what He is telling you. It may take time to become comfortable doing it, but it will be time well spent.