Sabbath and Silence
God invites us to listen to Him.
But
only the silent hear
and
those who are not silent
do not hear.
During a very difficult time in
Israel’s history, God sought out
Elijah, a discouraged and
disillusioned prophet, to teach him
something new.
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the
mountain in the presence of the Lord,
for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the
mountain apart and shattered the rocks
before the Lord, but the Lord was not in
the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the
Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a sound of sheer
silence…
1 Kings 19:11-13
And the Lord God was in the
silence.
Scholars struggled how to explain
that God spoke in the “sound of
sheer silence” so they translated the
Hebrew phrase as a “still, small
voice,” or a "gentle whisper.”
But there was only silence.
And in that silence Elijah
met God.
So will we.
You may be wondering why
these slides are moving so
slowly.
It’s going to be okay.
Take a deep breath.
So Scripture teaches us:
God is not only in the wind.
God is not only in the earthquake.
God is not only in the fire.
He is also in the “sound of sheer
silence.”
Silence is actually a mode of
activity – not just a refraining
from speaking or undue noise,
but a special form of
attentiveness to God.
Anonymous Author
Silence is where God dwells…
but…
We are surrounded by noise.
The experience of silence is now
so rare that we must guard and
treasure it…
Jesus knew the importance of
silence.
Very early in the morning, while
it was still dark, Jesus got up, left
the house and went off to a
solitary place, where he prayed.
Mark 1:35
Hear these words from Jesus for you:
“Come with me…to a quiet
place and get some rest.”
Mark 6:31
In just a moment, we will try
silence without words.
For 1 minute
We will begin and end our
1 minute with a chime.
Ready?
Let God embrace you with His
love during this time.
Close your eyes and let's begin.
P
Welcome back
In silence God has many
wonderful gifts for us...
Silence centers us.
Silence brings us back to the
basics, to our senses, to
ourselves.
Silence makes us attentive to the
world around us…
Silence allows us to “taste and
see”…
There is so much to see…to
savor…to experience…to delight
in…
Take in these next images…
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Ask yourself a few questions.
Ready?
If silence is difficult for you, why
do you think that is?
What are the noises in your life that
need to be quieted so you can hear
God speaking?
What calls out to you from these words?
“Silence is the discipline by which the inner
fire of God is tended and kept alive.”
Henri Nouwen
Learning silence
th
is so important that in the 4
century Agatho, a Christian
abbot, carried a stone in his
mouth for three years until he
learned to be silent.
How many stones might you
need to carry in your mouth to be
silent and listen?
“When you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.”
Psalm 4:4
Do not be rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything
hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on
earth; Therefore let your words be
few.
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Let’s now try silence without
words once again.
Only this time let’s do it for 3
minutes.
We will begin and end our three
minutes with the chime.
Ready?
Take a deep breath, relax and you
might want to ask:
“God, how do you want to come
to me in these 3 minutes of
silence?”
Close your eyes and let's begin.
P
Welcome back
The Lord is in his holy temple; let
all the earth be silent before him.
(That includes us)
Habakkuk 2:20
Is it possible that you have been
searching for God in the wind,
the earthquake, and the fire,
and
He is waiting to be with you in
“the sound of sheer silence?”