The beauty of silence

Sometimes I say too much. Sometimes I don’t know what to talk about. Most of the time, I enjoy silence. Part of the reason is being somewhat “different” in the way I think, perhaps either ADD or mild autism. I am aware that all my life I’ve been unable to chatter away in small talk. I also know that I cannot listen to or participate in conversation and work at the same time. If I try it, I must stop the work (or make mistakes in doing it) or shut my mind to those who speak, which can be rude. I would rather be silent. However, as this love of silence increases, I realize it is part of learning to listen to the Lord.

And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. (Luke 9:33–36)

Tozer adds a dimension to silence that is new to me. He agrees that not all silence is spiritual. Sometimes I just have nothing to say or what comes into my head is not to be shared aloud; perhaps a truth given by God to me, either for prayer or for unspoken praise in a situation where those with ears would not understand or be unable to join me.

Tozer also says that there is a progression concerning speech in the life of believers. We start out with a profusion of praise in speech or prayer or in sharing Christ with others. As that reaches a place where our knowledge of God has not caught up with our desire to speak, we might sing instead. However, there comes a time when God’s glory goes beyond the words of any songs and we fall silent, and the soul is held in deep fascination, blessed with unutterable praise.

Few people know or understand this kind of silence. Most of the people I know seem to talk too much, even avoid silence. To them, it is like a blank wall that needs to be written on. Yet silence is a wonderful part of readiness to hear God and, as Tozer says, to worship Him.

The Lord Jesus is teaching me His secret of silence, well-known and often applied. Provocative questions, accusations, mocking, and attempts to trap Him went unanswered. He followed His Father’s leading because He kept quiet long enough to know what He wanted done and said or unsaid.

Tozer says we never really come to know ourselves because we cannot keep quiet long enough. I agree. He also quotes that “more spiritual progress can be made in one short moment of speechless silence in the awesome Presence of God than in years of mere study.” This moment is brief, but whatever I’ve learned in silence sticks with me.

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Jesus, I’m glad that the circumstances of my life allow silence. I’m not in a noisy office, or in a place where there is constant sound. I can turn the radio or television on or off as I want, and off has been the default for many years. You are teaching me to hear You, and that is a marvel. In learning to hear You, I’m becoming better at hearing others and at knowing what to say — and when to say it — and when to shut up and just listen.