Practicing Silence
How can you practice silence? Are you willing?
Verse of the Day
“The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”
Today’s Devotional
The Israelites had the Tabernacle. Once in the Promised Land, and when kings were reigning, Solomon built a Temple for the Lord. But now….you are the temple. First Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”
So today, right now, the Lord is in his holy temple. He is in you. Look down at your body. THAT body is where the Lord God lives today. Thank him for his presence within you.
It’s interesting that this verse calls for our silence. Silence is a sign of honor and respect. No words are needed to enhance our God. He needs no explanation. He needs no proof or defense. He is that big. And that good.
Let’s honor the God of extravagant love with our silence this morning. Set a timer for 5 minutes on your phone. Set down your phone or iPad and get down on your knees (if you are able). Let’s bow down before our mighty God this morning. For 5 minutes, let’s be silent and kneeling before our God. Please know your mind WILL wander. That’s ok. When you notice your mind has wandered, just bring it back each time to focus on God. Set your intention on being totally open to God. Ok…Start your timer.
I’m assuming you just did that with me. How did it feel? The practice of silence is a hard one for me. I have lots of words that come out of my mouth and that run NON-STOP in my head. But God deserves for me to practice silence. God told Elijah in 1 Kings 19 that He comes in a gentle whisper. So if I truly want to hear God, I must practice silence. Because I desperately want to hear Him. But I also want to honor God, which I cannot do with all the noise of my life.
As we seek to learn how to discern what God is saying to each of us, we must learn the discipline of silence. We are told to “Be still and know that He is God.” Practicing the discipline of silence is an act of obedience. We are telling God that we want to hear Him and that we will practice silencing the noise of our world to make room for God.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How does silence feel to you?
How did it feel to bow before the Lord this morning? If you didn’t try it, are you willing to try it?
How can you thank God today for YOU being God’s holy temple?
How can you practice silence?
Do you believe practicing silence could help you with discernment?