“Then stirs the feeling infinite, so felt in solitude, where we are least alone.” –Lord Byron “But when you pray, go into your closet and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” (Matthew 6:6) Richard Foster notes that “Without silence there is no solitude” Experiencing God in Solitude Silence is possible without solitude but very few of us can be silent in the presence of others, which speaks to the necessity of pairing silence with solitude. Nothing like silence strips us naked and allows us to see reality through God’s eyes. The reason we seek silence is the same reason Jesus did – to be able to listen and hear what God is saying to us. Silence allows us to experience life-transforming concentration on God.
In silence we close our soul off from the sounds of words, music, and noise. What does it say about our souls if we have to have noise to feel as if something is happening around us?Īll in all no spiritual discipline is more universally accepted as necessary than the practice of silence. Silence is rare in our society as our lives are always filled with background noise, without which we tend to fear nothing is happening. We are in a culture that conditions us to be comfortable with noise and crowds and uneasy with silence. “In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah30:15)
“All writers on the spiritual life uniformly recommend, nay, command under penalty of total failure, the practice of silence” – The Catholic Encyclopedia “In silence and quietness the devout soul makes progress and learns the hidden mysteries of the Scriptures” – Thomas a Kempis. To turn away from human interaction and external stimuli. In the disciplines of abstinence, we abstain in some form and for some time from what we generally regard as normal desires.Īnd, as with all spiritual disciplines, the disciplines of silence, solitude, and stillness are for the ultimate goal of godliness, Christ-likeness, and oneness with God.įor the purpose of spiritual disciplines we define silence, solitude, and stillness as follows:
The spiritual disciplines of silence, solitude, stillness are disciplines of abstinence. To be more like Jesus we must likewise find times of silence, solitude and stillness. Jesus made a habit of withdrawing, sometimes abruptly, from the crowds and his ministry of doing his Father’s will to “the hills” or a “lonely place” or “the wilderness” or a “high mountain” or to the “seashore” or to the Garden of Gethsemene. The importance of silence, solitude, and stillness in the life of Jesus and his disciples is undeniable. Jesus and Silence, Solitude, and Stillness This is your chance to define a new normal, a rare and truly sacred opportunity.īelow are some observations on silence, solitude, and stillness and possible applications you may wish to incorporate into your spiritual practices and regimens. Here it is, your opportunity to experience silence, solitude, and stillness as never before. At no other time, ever in our lives, have we received the opportunity to see what would happen if the world simply stopped. Three of the core foundations of Sabbath are that of silence, solitude, and stillness. What the pandemic has given us is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop, to rest, to take a people fast, to cease our manic production and consumption, to see and reflect upon ourselves, our faith, and our country in an honest light. Not the deaths, not the COVID-19 virus, but The Great Stoppage. It’s arguably the greatest gift God could have ever given our generation. What has happened is inexplicably incredible and profound. Well, for most of us the treadmill you’ve been on for decades has abruptly stopped.
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