The Power of Silence

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries

The health crisis that marked 2020 brought about an amazing silence across the earth. Sports events were silenced and concerts were cancelled. The shouts of children at playgrounds grew quiet. I watched the news in amazement one day as it showed the streets of downtown New York City almost deserted and still.

We are by nature a noisy species. Even in the lockdown, we eagerly attempted to escape to our former activities and all the noise that would bring. Here is something I wrote about that time:

“I’m afraid the noise will return as I’m actually enjoying the quiet. It’s really very biblical. Stillness brings with it the opportunity to quiet our souls before our Maker. You can certainly do that with noise all around you, but it is so much easier when your environment has grown quiet. It is in stillness that we sense more of the Presence of God and are better able to discern His quiet voice.” 

 Quiet yourself for a minute and pay attention to what God’s Word is saying about silence. Here are four powerful admonitions from the Lord:

 “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Hab.2:20).

 “Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling” (Zech. 2:13).

 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Ps.37:7).

 “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps.46:10). 

 Here are some simple ways to use your “holy imagination” or your “mind’s eye” to experience these scriptures as you spend time in silence before Him:

• As you pray, imagine you can see the Lord in heaven.

  
  

There are crowds of angels before Him in complete silence. You feel a deep need not to break into that silence with any noise. “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

• Picture the Lord sitting on His throne.

  
  

You carefully watch and then, to your amazement, He begins to arise from His throne. He is getting up and that means something is about to happen. Imagine what that might be right now! “Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling” (Zechariah 2:13).

• Wait on the Lord in prayer.

  
  

Place yourself in a position of waiting on the Lord. It would be like being in a class where the teacher said, “Now pay careful attention to what I’m going to say next,” and then paused. You would be leaning forward, waiting to hear what comes next. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7).

• Draw near to the Lord in prayer.

  
  

Imagine sitting close to Jesus, or even on His lap, as a child would do. Does the immensity and grandeur of the One to whom you are speaking overwhelm you and bring you to absolute silence before Him? What does the peace of His presence feel like? You are coming to know your God. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

It is very clear that God places a high value on silence. Will we?