IN THE STILLNESS
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7 (King James Version)
One of the definitions in Webster’s Dictionary for the word “silence” is “absence of sound or noise”. It seems like every place we go there is noise. Our world is full of noise and our homes are full of noise. It seems like every activity we attend has noise, loud noise. There is nothing wrong with having music at activities but we do need to have activities that do not have music.
What breaks my heart is that I have been to churches where the music was played so loud during the invitation time that I couldn’t hear what the pastor was saying. How that must hurt Jesus and break His heart! Many years ago, I asked a pastor “Do you have a time when the church is open, when it is quiet with no music being played so people can come and pray”?
The pastor replied and said “We do open the church once a month so people can come and pray but there is always music being played”. I don’t know about you but when I pray, I don’t want to hear music or have any other distractions. I want to come to my Heavenly Father in a reverent stillness.
When I was in the mental hospital, practically every patient there was taking tranquilizers to calm them. Instead of the attendants playing calm and soothing noise to help calm the patients, the loud speakers were blasting with loud noise. The music, (in my opinion, it wasn’t music, it was just noise) was so loud at times that it rattled the windows.
Instead of calming the patients, it excited them. The music was playing so loud one day and got the patient sitting next to me so excited that all of a sudden, without any warning, he pushed his feet through the glass windows and cut himself. When the other patients saw his feet bleeding and the attendants wrestling him to the floor to subdue him and put a strait jacket on him, they got very upset and shouted “Turn the music down!”
When we pray, we should go to our Heavenly Father with an attitude of awe. It is a privilege to talk to Him and we should treat Him with respect. I received an email several months ago from someone who told me “I pray but I don’t hear God saying anything to me”. I asked this person if the radio or television was playing while the person was talking to God. The person replied and said “Yes”.
It is no wonder at all that we don’t hear God talking to us. He isn’t going to shout to make Himself heard over loud music or other distractions. He speaks to us in the stillness as we come to Him with humble hearts. Are you willing to shut off the television and anything else that is a distraction and pray in the stillness so you can hear God when He is talking to you?
If we aren’t willing to talk to Him when it is quiet, then we shouldn’t complain that we can’t hear Him talking to us. You might say “I don’t have any time where I can be alone and pray”. I heard a pastor say this in one of his sermons when I lived in Oklahoma “If you can find time to read the newspaper, you have time to pray and you can go to the bathroom to pray if you have to.”
Heavenly Father, please forgive us for allowing the noise of this world and other distractions to keep us from hearing You when You are trying to talk to us. Help us to come to You in the stillness of our hearts and listen to You. May we stop complaining and start praising and thanking You for what You have already done for us. Amen.
Joanne Lowe
joannelowe8@cox.net
www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com
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