He says, “Be still, and know that I am God”
We’ve come to the last day of our series on ways that God speaks to us, and today I want to focus on perhaps the least obvious way of all, you might even say it’s contradictive in nature…
But God speaks through silence.
There is a saying that silence speaks more than a thousand words, and that is definitely true for God. He often chooses silence to speak to our hearts.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God” – Psalms 46:10
Nowadays, it feels like every silence needs to be filled. Every moment of our lives is occupied with music, conversation, social media blasting information or simply just noise.
But some of the greatest men and women of God in history understood the importance of silence, sometimes even spending hours a day seeking God by simply being quiet.
Mother Teresa was once asked in an interview, “What do you say when you pray?” She replied, “Nothing, I just listen.” So then the reporter asked, “Well then, what does God say to you?” Her answer: “Nothing much, He just listens.”
Though God has the power to blast His words with sounds of thunder, He chooses to whisper them to us in the silence instead. Elijah experienced this in 1 Kings 19:
The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. – I Kings 19:11-12
I encourage you to spend some time each day simply in silence. It can feel awkward at first, but I trust you will experience God speaking to you in the quiet.
If you need help getting started with this practice, I encourage you to follow the Bible reading plan I wrote on Solitude and Silence in the YouVersion Bible App.
