The end of the calendar year is often a time for reflection and expectation, looking back at where we’ve been and looking forward to what the next year holds. We often make resolutions or set goals for where we hope to be by the end of the next year and plot out a course to help us achieve these goals.
How often do we do this with our relationship with God? Most of us would agree that we long to know God more, and we hope to grow in our Christlikeness over the next year. But how do we do this? Read the Bible? Yes. Pray? Yes. But so often we begin a new year full of hope intending to read the Bible and pray more only to fizzle after the first week or so.
But what if our practice of our faith has become too entwined with our achievement oriented society? What if growing in Christlikeness is less about achieving and more about dwelling, being, and listening?
This is where spiritual practices or spiritual disciplines come in. Spiritual disciplines are intentional practices which aid us in creating an environment conducive to being with God, hearing his voice, and moving at his pace. This year as a church, we are going to explore different spiritual practices together. We will focus on each practice for about one month.
This month’s practice is solitude and silence.
Our world, our lives are noisy. And while noise is not bad, it often distracts us from God’s voice. When the prophet Elijah went to the cave to hear from God and experience God’s presence, he encounters hurricane force winds, an earthquake, and a raging fire. Yet, we are told God is not in any of those. 1 Kings 19:12-13 tells us that after the fire “came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” It is the gentle whisper that alerts Elijah to God’s presence.
A gentle whisper. It doesn’t take a very loud noise to cover up a whisper. Yet our lives are filled with a cacophony of sound ranging from the pleasant to the distressing and everything in between. Thus, we need regular times of silence and solitude to slow down and position ourselves to hear God’s voice and attune our hearts to his rhythm.
Practice:
The practice is simple- spend time each day in silence and solitude dwelling in God’s presence; however, our habits of filling every spare moment with noise and activity are deeply ingrained to the point that even spending 5 minutes being and not doing is difficult for most of us. So we will begin with 5 minutes and increase the time as our ability and tolerance grows.
Brew a strong cup of coffee or tea. Find a quiet space to sit comfortably. Turn off all devices, even turning off music and removing your smart watch.
Begin by praying the words of Psalm 139:23-24
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Then sit, still and silent, breathing deeply. If you find that your mind begins to wander or distractions creep in, don’t let this stress you. Instead, take a deep breath and pray the words of Psalm 139 again. We are so accustomed to filling all silent and still spaces with our devices that we have forgotten how to just be. It will take time for our minds to be retrained, but with regular times of stillness and silence, our tolerance will grow. So begin with 5-7 minutes of silence and solitude each day and gradually lengthen this time as you continue through the month.
If you are interested in reading more about the discipline of silence and solitude, I recommend Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Ruth Haley Barton. Additionally, I would love to hear about your experience with solitude and silence. So please don’t hesitate to reach out!
As we wrap up 2024 and step into 2025, let’s begin by intentionally dwelling in God’s presence.
