Today in our quest for an audience of One our focus is prayer. Prayer is intimate, and meant to be a dialogue. Yet most times, in short prayers to God as you go through the day, it can be a monologue. So I set out to come before the Lord in silence. I told Him that one of the hardest things for me when in prayer is when I wait to hear from you and it seems you are silent. So I waited….and waited…and waited…and silence was what I received. Silence is so awkward, and I yet I recall a time when silence was a respite. I began to explore God’s silence, and as I did so, I found that silence is a part of relationship. There is a time for everything. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is even a time to be silent.
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Eccl 3:7 (KJV)
Think of the moments when with someone you love, you have been silent. You have to be really comfortable with them to be able to sit with them in silence.
As I read through scripture regarding silence, I found David’s words about silence agreeable with my thoughts.
He told His soul to be silent as it waited on God in the following Psalms:
1 My soul waiteth in silence for God only: From him cometh my salvation.
Psalms 62:1 (ASV)
In the same Psalm David again says,
5 My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; For my expectation is from him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my high tower; I shall not be moved.
Psalms 62:5-6 (ASV)
David waits in silence and confidence.
On another occasion He asked God not to keep silence.
1 O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
Psalms 83:1-3 (ASV)
Although we may take God’s reply of silence as a rebuke, or inability to hear Him, it is natural for those in relationship to experience times of silence. God’s silence may be a great sign of His love for you. Consider the following passage:
A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence. –from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. It is taken from the October 11th entry here.
After reading about God’s silence, I remembered a song I sang at my best friend’s wedding.
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When unwrapping the Love of God….
He says it best when He says nothing at all. ❤ Melinda
For now we will forego this series until after the holiday season. Giving thanks in all things, and celebrating the birth of our Savior blesses our audience of One.
Another Samaritan Woman 
Oh yes, this.
We so often grow impatient in the silence, the stillness, assuming He is not speaking.
But it is here that our spirits hear the most.
Great post!