“There come times when I have nothing more to tell God.” At such times it is wonderful to say to God, ‘May I be in Thy presence, Lord? I have nothing more to say to Thee, but I do love to be in Thy presence.'” ~Ole Kristian O. Hallesby
It amazes me to watch my three year old niece when she needs to sleep. She becomes irritable, cantankerous and even meddlesome until she relaxes in the arms of her mother and is quietly lulled off to “dreamland”. To some extent, we are quite similar in our need for communion with God. We are continually ‘doing’, even during our quiet time with Him, when we really need to ‘be’. Our worship to God involves not just our church attendance, our service to our neighbor, our prayer list, our daily scriptural reading, our singing, our feet stomping, our hand clapping, our prostrated bodies, or our uplifted arms but also the need to be alone and quiet before Our Creator. But this need for silence and solitude does not come naturally.
The Link between Noise and Health
This wonderful body (including our faculties and senses) God has given to us is for His glory. However, the body has to be disciplined physically, mentally and spiritually to experience the fullness of God. By nature, we, human beings, are just noisy people. Noise constantly consumes us to the detriment of our health. According to an online newspaper, The Guardian, the World Health Organization reports that thousands of people in Britain and around the world are dying prematurely from heart disease because of prolong exposure to excessive noise. Coronary heart disease caused 101,000 deaths in the UK in 2006, and the study suggests that 3,030 of these are caused by chronic noise exposure, including to daytime traffic. These statistics are supported by research in the past that has shown a link between noise and high levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, adrenaline and non-adrenaline in the body, even during sleep. The longer these stress hormones remain in the system, the more likely they are to cause life-threatening physiological problems, such as heart failure, strokes, high blood pressure and immune problems.
The Need for Silence and Solitude
No doubt there is a need for silence. The human brain clearly recognizes silence. According to a new study conducted at the University of Oregon and reported by Discovery News.com, the brain responds not only to sounds but also to silence. As a matter of fact, it hears silence as loud and clear as any noise but responds differently to it. There are, therefore, physical, and mental benefits of silence. But the spiritual benefits have been recognized for centuries. God commands the ancient Hebrews – to be still. To be still in Hebrew (rapha) means – “to let go of” (Psalm 46:10). Stillness is not just limited to physical movements but also the movements in our hearts. We are constantly and mentally problem solving or planning the next event even before the first is done. We are concerned, anxious about situations in our lives. “To be still and know” that He is God means “to let go” of of all these affairs. Like a child needing to rest, we must surrender to the “All Powerful”. Learning to relax our bodies under the presence of the Almighty will not come naturally, but it is what our soul naturally desires–just to be in His Presence.
Seldom is silence without solitude. Early in the morning, Jesus would leave His disciples to commune with His Father. Perhaps, we may not be able to take a retreat to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, but the sacrifice of arising early when all is still will be so worth it. Andrew Murray, a missionary leader born in South Africa, says it well, “It is a glorious thing to get to know God in a new way in the inner chamber. It is something still greater and more glorious to know God as the all-sufficient One and to wait on His Spirit to open our hearts and minds wide to receive the great things, the new things which He really longs to bestow on those who wait for Him”.
Conclusion
Silence is more than the absence of noise. “It is reference for speech rather than repression of it” (Hall). Solitude is not about being alone. It is about being with God as it was in the “beginning” when God created the heavens and the earth, breaking the silence to craft the universe with His holy inspired words. God wants us to desire to be with Him – to take a break and rest in Him. Like a child, who crawls up into her mother’s arms needing rest, we, too, can cuddle in His arms. And it’s okay with Him if we periodically fall asleep.
Sources:
Noise of Modern Life Blamed for Thousands of Deaths: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/aug/23/sciencenews.uknews
Brain Hears Sound of Silence: http://news.discovery.com/human/brain-sounds-silence.htm
Silence, Solitude and Simplicity: A Hermit’s Love Affair with a Noisy, Crowded, and Complicated World by Sister Jeremy Hall
