Written by Sarah Evangeline
We are uncomfortable with silence. We think it is awkward, so we fill the empty space with noise.
We blast the radio in the car. We rant about all the negative things that went on at work. We gossip. We turn on the TV, even when no one is actually watching it. We put our earphones in when we go for a run. We are constantly invaded with noise.
Have you ever thought of silence as a gift?
There is a time to speak, but there is also a time to just be quiet, be silent and pray.
There is a side to me that is kind, thoughtful, encouraging and optimistic. There is also a side of me that can be angry, impatient and self-centered. I know what it is like to say something positive one minute and be totally impatient and negative the next. I am human, but being human does not give me the excuse to behave in this negative way. I want to do better. I want to use my emotions and words for good. As Christians, we need to strive to do better. I opened up my Bible to find Psalm 19:14:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
The tongue is one of the most powerful tools God has given us; it can either speak life or speak death. Our words tell a story of how we love God. Words direct our path. They show how much we love our family and friends. Even our tone of voice and how we react to situations says a lot about our character and how we value God.
What if we changed our negative, self-seeking words into prayers?
We were created to talk to God.
As Christ followers, we are to look to Jesus for our daily example, including when it comes to prayer. Jesus paints a beautiful picture because He prayed after He performed miracles, He prayed in thanksgiving, He prayed for discernment, He prayed for His disciples and for all mankind to be saved, and He even prayed for strength and wisdom. Jesus knew how to humble himself, using prayer to surrender His life for God to use.
When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, “Yet not as I will, but as You will,” He offered a tremendous but seemingly simple insight into prayer: God is in charge. As we learn from the prayer life of Jesus—and there is much to learn—we need to keep this overarching principle in mind.
I believe that prayer is the gateway to understanding a deeper, more purposeful life. What would happen if we prayed in every kind of situation like Jesus did? Wouldn’t our lives radically change? What would happen if we stopped and thought before we spoke? I also wonder what kind of world it would be if we would be silent, still and wait patiently for God to answer us back.
Because I know He is trying to tell us all something.
We have to listen. We have to be willing to give up the noise and be okay with silence. We have to learn that every single word we say will bring either life or death. We have to remember to rely on God’s direction every step of the way.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, I encourage you to just appreciate the silence. I encourage you to be mindful of your words and the power they have. I encourage you to pray and trust Him a little bit more. When you kneel before God, you can stand up to anything.
So, simply stop. Stop doing and start praying.
Value your words and speak life, then wait to see what God will do.
