Silence

Women of Faith:

I woke up this morning with a thought about how nice it would be to stay in bed in “the silence.”

With no cell phones, no computers, no constant “noise” of the world. Maybe I felt that way because I fell asleep frustrated by my computer and lack of a “good signal” on the internet. Or maybe I was hearing God “in the gentle voice” within me.

Matthew Kelly in “The Rhythm of Life” talks about how as children we hear the “gentle voice within us with great clarity and we live by what we hear. So we are immensely happy.

“As we grow older, we become aware of all the other voices around us—the voices of parents, siblings, friends, critics, television, strangers and experts.

“These voices have strength and confidence of experience, so we become fascinated and distracted from the gentle voice within.

“We start to question and doubt and gradually that voice within us becomes faint, we stop listening to this natural voice within.

“The gentle voice within us is your truest guide, because it has no self-interest. It is only interested in you becoming your best version of yourself.” (Paraphrased from Matthew Kelly)

What does this say about the silence? How do we fail to hear God’s truth and probably more importantly how have we come to believe in what the world says is normal, true, and more important, than what we know in our hearts is not “morally right?”

Why is it we are so ready to argue with what our inner voice says, with God’s truth? And why is everything else, and everyone else more important than taking the time to be silent so that we can listen to God’s voice in our life?

Yesterday’s gospel in Paul’s letter to Timothy called us to pray, saying: “It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument. 1 Tm 2:1-8

Dear God: Praise be Your presence in my life. Praise be your whispering call. Help me to be still and know that you are near. Thank you for those moments of quiet time, of silence. Let me appreciate them and not try to fill every moment with something “more important.” Thank you for meeting my daily needs. Give me opportunities to be silent, to listen, and to truly hear your Truth. Amen.

God is here, God is just waiting for you “to be still,” to be quiet, to be silent and to know that He is here. We can’t listen to Him, to the “gentle voice within us” if we fill every moment of every day, or if we are continuously arguing with that voice, ignoring it so that we can accept what we know is wrong, because the world is telling us—“everyone does it.”

Blessings in silence,
Charlotte