Enter the Silence
By Brita Crouse
“When life is heavy
and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't
ask questions: Wait for hope to appear.”
Lamentations
3:28-29 (The Message)
During my junior year of college, I
was given a class assignment that was...difficult, to say the least. The
assignment was to sit in silence. For thirty minutes. And let God speak. I’m
not going to pretend here: I had a bad attitude about this one. But, I didn’t
want to blow it off either. I was interested to know if I could do it.
On the floor where I lived, we had a
small utility closet that had been converted into a meditation room. This is
the spot where I chose to do my assignment. I felt like a fighter heading into
the big fight as I walked down the hallway toward the meditation room. I was
trying to mentally prepare myself for thirty whole minutes of quiet with a
little internal pep talk.
I approached the tiny room, opened
the door, and settled in. There was a prayer we were supposed to read through
before we began, so I did that. Then I sat. I think I was so stressed out about
trying to hear God’s voice that my mind began to race. It had only been thirty
seconds! How was I going to do this for thirty minutes?
My brain began “rabbit-trailing.”
What was for dinner in the cafeteria tonight? I’m hungry; I should’ve eaten
before I did this. How long can a person go without eating food? Maybe I could
sneak out for a snack. No, then I’d have to start all over again.
And, then, my heart heard a loud
“STOP!” It was the Holy Spirit snapping me to attention. What had I been doing?
Focusing on everything but God. At that moment, I realized how self-centered my
existence was. I wasn’t thinking about God at all, even when I was assigned to
do it!
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I
was able to refocus and concentrate on listening for His voice. You know what?
The craziest thing happened. I HEARD IT. God spoke to my heart because I
listened.
Our relationship with God goes two
ways; it’s a back-and-forth. He wants to talk to us just as much as we want to
talk to Him. If we are constantly talking and thinking and analyzing, where is
there time for us to listen to what God wants to say?
Take time to “enter the silence” and
pray. You won’t be disappointed.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Find thirty minutes
this week to spend listening to God’s voice.
2. Tell a friend or
family member how God spoke to you this week.
FURTHER READING:
Brita is currently working toward her
Master’s in Counseling at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She has
called Oakwood her home church for the past seventeen years.
