Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash
Do you ever talk to yourself? You know, I find I am talking to myself more and more, as I am reaching (ahem) my senior years. (As though I am still reaching…) (OK, let’s face it — I’m already there!) Sometimes just hearing words out loud makes an issue seem clearer. I’ve heard people say, “Of course, I talk to myself. I want to know the listener is intelligent.” Or my niece recently gave me a t-shirt which reads: “Sometimes I talk to myself. And then we both just laugh and laugh!”
There are some things which are taken for granted, and those include the power of speech. We have a good friend who, when we were together, never let there be a moment of silence. She simply had to fill all that silence with words. It’s obvious she never read the superior book written by Susan Cain, Quiet, the Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. She put forth that we have two ears and one mouth, and we should use them proportionally. Not to say that only introverts understand the power of silence.
“The word listen contains the same letters as the word silent.”
A couple of years ago, our Ladies’ Bible Study discussed the importance of remaining silent before the Lord for a short time each day. We were meeting together in homes then, and not on our phones as we do now. We tried a time of silence to calm down our hearts and minds and help us prepare to listen to what God might want to say to us. I can just hear you now, “Uh-oh, that didn’t last long. You can’t keep a room full of women silent.” Surprise. We began with just 30 seconds of total silence, just clearing your minds and listening. Then it was a full minute. Then two. Then five. What do you think? Was it a useful exercise? Somehow, once we got into the practice of a season of quiet, it almost seemed too short a time.
Listening is important. Everyone appreciates a good listener, even if it is only them talking to themselves. One thing I have read lately that just struck me was this conversation.
“How can you read and talk at the same time?” I asked. “Well, I usually can’t, but neither the book nor the conversation is particularly intellectually challenging.” (John Green, Look for Alaska.)
There! That’s the gist of it, is it not? We so often just prattle on about things, using words as though they were not important enough to think about first. I wonder if God hears our prayers when we don't really think about what we're saying. I wonder if it makes Him sigh.
So here is a challenge for you (and me) for this next month. When you get ready to pray, try going into total silence for a minute or two. Don’t think about anything. And then when you use words, think of them, assess them, weigh them, and give them devotedly to the God Who will always hear your prayers.
Have nothing to pray about? Please pray for my dear friend, Judy, (more like a sister), who is going through a rough time physically. Two years ago, she nearly died from pancreatitis. The priest was even sneaked into the ICU (this was during COVID) and gave her last rites. Twice. Please pray for her to have the courage and strength she needs. Pray that her Christian witness remains strong even in this fateful time. Pray that she is leaning on Christ’s everlasting arms.
Now. Can you think of other words that need to be brought before the Lord? Sometimes what we really need is a little quiet time with the Lord.
(By the way, tomorrow is our 55th wedding anniversary. Guess which of us is the talker!)