Thinking of fasting.
Fasting is a form of continual prayer.
Silence is another form of fasting, fasting from our own words, our own scatteredness, our own forms of thinking, our own activities and interactions, our own busy-ness.
It is also a fasting from the words, the chatter, and the scatteredness of others.
It is a protected place, a place in His presence with an armour of protection.
It is a form of separation from the world.
It is continual prayer, with our inner life tuned to listen. The listening for what He will speak.
Our Lord kept a Holy Silence.
He only spoke what He heard from the Father.
He did not need to speak, but spoke for the sake of others. It only took three words to raise Lazarus from the dead, and even those words were not necessary except for the others who were present.
Silence is another form of love.
A respect for the solitude of our brother or sister.
A respect for what the Lord may be doing in their lives.
A listening instead of storming in.
A non-possessiveness of those things the Lord may speak to us, not having to force others to hear, unless we are led by the Spirit to share.
A keeping and a hiding of His word in our hearts.
Speaking only as we are led to speak by the Holy Spirit.
The freedom to not have to talk because others require it.
The freedom to say what we are given to say.
The enlargement of spirit that stillness, and quietness creates within.
"Be still, and know that I am God." ~Psalm 46:10
(Photo taken this week in NW GA as we approach Lent)
3 comments:
I have returned to your thoughts on silence many times and have reread it when I am going on retreat and need to remain in silence. Thank you for this post and have you quit this post? I thank God for you sharing your wisdom.
Thank you so much. That is so very encouraging. I have not quit blogging, I just go through times when I am not able to write. I get writer's block, and I also wait to feel impressed, but hoping I will be able to keep up with it more often.
Blessings,
Susan, aka Desert Pilgrim
Oh, Dear Sister... I love that "Silence" blog! It is so sustaining, reinforcing what we know and have experienced to be true. Bless GOD for this blog; it quite strengthens us.
Sr. Judith Hannah
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