Meditation, solitude and silence. Great-sounding words, neat concepts, but practical and obtainable?
We are bombarded with noise from the moment we wake until we retire at night. Think about it. We wake up to a clock radio blaring, turn the TV on during breakfast, listen to more radio in the shower, hop in the car with the cd player going, enter our workplace with our minds racing about the urgencies awaiting us, and then it’s back home again with a mind cluttered with noise. Where is God in all this? When do we have time to be still and know our Lord?
Solitude and silence are a key to the Spiritual Disciplines. You can’t communion with God meaningfully without dealing with the clutter and noise — whether the noise is external noise or the internal noises of your mind.
Quest believes that our cultivated ability to be still and listen for the voice of God is key to fostering dependence on Christ.
· Matthew 14:23, “After Jesus had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone.”
· Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
· Luke 4:42, “At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.”
· Psalm 62:1, “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from God.”
· Isaiah 30:15, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.'”
The invitation of the Bible is surprising consistent; God appears to long for us to BE with God in shared presence.
It is also very helpful to take time during the day to have just a few minutes of stillness whenever you can grab the time — in the car, in your office, at your desk in school, or wherever you may be, or better still, to set aside specific days just to listen. Just practice focusing on Christ and clear the clutter from your mind. Let Christ bring you life.
Peace, dwight
