Un-Hurry Week 2
Un-Hurry Week 2:
Silence and Solitude
Thoughts of the Week:
Quick Review: Review The most radical, and many would say, the most difficult of all the practices of Jesus is silence and solitude. A working definition is: intentional time in the quiet to be alone with God, and our own soul. It’s the space we make for God to love us, and to transform us into people of love. There are two dimensions of silence – external and internal. External is when we get away from all the people and noise and stimuli and let our body come to quiet. Internal – which is harder to do – is when we calm and center on our mind on God, we come to a kind of mental and emotional rest in God.
In the book, John Mark Comer, brings up a survey from Microsoft which found that 77 percent of young adults answered “ ‘yes’ when asked, ‘When nothing is occupying my attention the first thing I do is reach for my phone.’ ” How much time do you have each day for silence? Even if you do not reach for your phone we live in a time when silence and solitude seem to be on short supply. Many psychologist and mindfulness folks agree that silence is important. Read this quote from St. Teresa of Calcutta “We need to find God and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature- trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence: see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
I liked this excerpt from a blog:
“At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.” Mark 1:12-13 (NIV)
Paul also experienced this wilderness season of solitude prior to starting his ministry. We’re told in Galatians 1:11-20 that Paul immediately went to the desert of Arabia after his conversion. He spent three years in his own wilderness season, before going to the other disciples and stepping into his ministry. We can only imagine what wrestling he must have done with God and what deep transforming work God must have done with him. How to Practice Solitude ·
- Set aside 15 minutes to be alone with God. Maybe early in the morning or late at night.
- Go on a walk alone, without music, and just spend time with God in his creation.
- Carve out several hours of a day to be alone with God. You may choose to read the Bible or. a devotion, pray, or journal.
- Set aside time throughout the year for a ‘retreat’ with God – for a few hours, a whole day, or longer. Spend quiet time being refilled by God, listening and being in his presence.
“In quiet and silence the faithful soul makes progress, the hidden meanings of the Scriptures become clear, and the eyes weep with devotion every night. Even as one learns to grow still, he draws closer to the Creator and farther from the hurly-burly of the world. As one divests himself of friends and acquaintances, he is visited by God and his holy angels.” ~Thomas a Kempis (translation by William Griffin) *
It is my prayer that you would be able to begin, or continue, the journey of inner silence this Lenten season. If you would like to continue to understand silence and solitude here are some resources…
Video Lesson by Author John Mark Comer
Breath Prayer: Blog Post
Scripture to Consider:
From the Old Testament we get a story of the need for silence and solitude: “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting’… The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” (Exodus 33:7, 11)
Questions: (adapted from BigChurchRead)
- ‘One of the key tasks of our apprenticeship to Jesus is living into both our potential and our limitations.’ What’s your response to this?
- Do you ever allow yourself to get bored? Have you ever allowed those moments to become ‘portals to prayer’?
- When faced with nothing to do, do you automatically reach for your phone?
- ‘The wilderness isn’t the place of weakness; it’s the place of strength.’ How do you feel about this idea?
- How does the idea of cultivating silence – both external and internal – make you feel?
*https://www.prayerandpossibilities.com/silence-and-solitude/