As Was His Custom: Silence
I remember the first time I experienced true silence. I was 11 years old and had just spent a week at my grandparent’s home all by myself. My Grandma Gus and I had attended musicals, gotten my ears pierced, and shopped until we dropped. She’d taken me to tea houses, watched Anne of Green Gables (with Megan Follows- because that version is a part of my DNA!), and rode my Grandpa Gus’ horses at sunset. That week was one of my most beautiful times with my grandparents on my mother’s side.
But in one of the most traumatic experiences of my life, on the way to surprise my Grandpa at work with ice cream, an intoxicated driver t-boned the car my Grandma and I were in. Our vehicle spun, rolling violently eight times into a bean field. When our car came to rest upside down, I was unconscious, pinned between the dashboard and the windshield. My Grandma’s seat belt had snapped, leaving her bleeding out on the ceiling of the car, now on the ground. My parents were over 12 hours away, and even though my Dad left immediately after receiving that awful phone call, I was relatively alone for several hours in that hospital room in Princeton, IL.
I had put on a brave face while the first responders cut out my body with the Jaws of Life from the wreckage of the accident. I had listed family names and phone numbers with confidence as the ambulance whisked me to the ER. I had even had my role reversed with my Grandpa as he came to share the news with me that my Grandma had walked into Heaven after that car accident. He wept openly, laying his head on my hospital bed while I comforted him. Later that evening, while the noises of the hospital room and my Grandma’s best friend’s quiet snores in the lazy boy in the corner, I realized I was the most alone I’d been my entire life. Then, in the silence, quiet tears began to make their way down my face. As they turned into sobs, my body shuddered from the pain of the broken pelvis, cuts, bruises, and scrapes that covered my body. The silence overwhelmed me.
But it was there that Jesus met me. I almost felt as though He picked me up and cradled me. In that silence, I genuinely met Him, and He became mine. That silent night became not just my parents’ faith or the Jesus relationship that my Grandma spoke about but all of mine. The silence was uncomfortable, strange upon my ears, and mildly haunting, but in that moment all I could do was focus on Christ.
The Importance of Silence as a Custom
Practicing silence was one of Jesus’ customs. In allowing silence to be a part of His customs and habits, Jesus allowed space for God to speak to Him. In a sense, silence and “listening” to God’s voice are the same custom. In our Western context, how we read the Bible is based upon Greek philosophy because we try to identify certain truths that shape our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. On the other hand, the Judeo-Christian way of understanding Scripture is based upon the ancient Hebrew thought that God’s voice alone can transform us and the world around us. Without silence and active listening to God, we will not hear what He has to say.
Jesus’ Custom of Silence
Frequently, solitude and silence go hand in hand. In the Gospel, Jesus was in solitude whenever he practiced silence (check out our recent post on Solitude). He usually withdrew to quiet places like beside a lake or up to a mountain, sometimes into the wilderness.
Matthew 26:36-46 (bolded italics mine) says,
Then Jesus came with them to Gethsemane and told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”
We see Jesus pursuing a quiet space with his inner circle during one of His life's most overwhelming and grievous moments on earth. He was faced with following God’s Will for His life and the rest of the world. So, instead of asking everyone for advice, He asked them to come with Him to a quiet place and pray nearby. How often do we do that when faced with a dilemma?
Overall, Jesus practiced silence:
When the Holy Spirit led Him at the start of His ministry (Matt. 4:1)
Before or after a busy day
In the evening, after most of the world was asleep (Matt. 14:23)
In the morning, before most of the world was awake (Mark 1:35)
During the day, finding a desolate place (Luke 4:42)
When trying to discover God’s Will (Matt. 26:36-46)
Underneath the Translation
There are other times in Scripture when silence was practiced. Elijah practiced it when he went to the Mount of God (Horeb), where he heard the “low whisper” or “absence of sound” of God (1 Kings 19:8, 11-13). Habakkuk entered a guard post and kept watch in silence to hear from and answer to God (Habakkuk 2:1). Even Paul went to Arabia after his conversion to Christ, where he probably sat alone with God (Gal. 1:15-17).
The book of Numbers (Bamidbar) is read by Jews and Messianic believers on the Sabbath before Pentecost. Bamidbar means “in the desert,” and there’s a spiritual reason that these believers read God’s Word during this time. The desert is a place of silence. There’s nothing to distract you visually or audibly. Elie Wiesel is recorded to have said regarding Judaism as being a very vocal religion, “Judaism is full of silences… but we don’t talk about them.”[1] Psalm 65:2 tells us that “to You, silence is praise.” The service of the temple priests was accompanied by silence. The Levites sang in the courtyard, but the priests neither sang nor spoke while offering the sacrifices. There is also the silent music of God’s created universe (Psalm 19).
In fact, it’s interesting to me that one of the first mentions in the Gospels about Jesus seeking silence is when He is tempted in the desert/wilderness. And it’s not the enemy that leads Him there; it’s the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, God leads us into the wilderness to the silence so that we can grow deeper roots that rely upon Him only.
How Can We Follow Jesus in This Way?
I began to actively practice silence around 11 years ago. We had just had our third son and were both in full-time ministry, so our home had become more chaotic. I couldn’t keep up with routine housework and became overwhelmed. I turned to Pinterest for yet another organizational tip, but I was desperate for that same kind of moment with Jesus I had experienced at 11 years of age. So, instead of Pinterest, I pulled open my Bible and read about how Jesus withdrew to quiet places. He LOOKED for them, it seemed. I realized I rarely sought out quiet spaces until I was on sensory overload and crashed in our master bedroom for several days. I began seeking silence in certain areas of my life (see the list below).
Whitney states, “The discipline of silence is the voluntary and temporary abstention from speaking so that certain spiritual goals might be sought.”[2] These spiritual goals may be to read and meditate on the Bible, to pray, and to journal. Still, in all of them, we are quiet, listening for God to speak through His Word or “connecting the dots” for you regarding situations in your own life. It is a way for us to literally follow Colossians 3:2 and “set our minds upon the things that are above.” Whitney states that Jesus’ habit of fellowship is almost the opposite of silence/solitude. He writes, “Without silence and solitude, we can be active but shallow. Without fellowship, we can be deep but stagnant.”[3]
Silence differs slightly from solitude and rest in that you actively listen for God to show up. You are waiting for Him to walk into your space and tell you something.
Ideas to Practice Silence
Turn off the radio while driving and just sit silently while driving. Listen for God.
Attend a silent retreat
Go for a walk by yourself. Don’t take your phone.
Go into a closet and shut the door.
Set aside a time when you can find silence. Set a timer and try to release your thoughts to God. Listen for His voice. (Write down any thoughts if it helps release them). Stay in silence, either listening if He speaks to you, or asking Him questions and waiting for the response.
We live in a constantly busy, constantly noisy world where our thoughts are being bombarded by other things. The lack of silence in our lives is not just a loss of quiet, but the gift of being present is being stolen from us. We MUST prioritize silence or risk losing hearing from our God. So, choose to be uncomfortable and allow your senses to be heightened in the quiet to hear from Him today.
[1] Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “The Sound of Silence,” Online. https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3328781/jewish/The-Sound-of-Silence.htm
[2] Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2014), 224.
[3] Whitney, Ibid., 225.
