The Discipline of Silence
This should be fun…a Puerto Rican woman writing a blog post on silence.
Now that I’ve just gone ahead and said it, I will say that in our time teaching the disciplines, silence is the one people feel like they will struggle with the most.
We hear it all:
“There is no way I can just sit silently for 20 mins!”
“How do you even get your brain to be silent for that long?”
“I have no time for this.”
In the past, when explaining the discipline of silence I have seen people get antsy, panic and even become anxious.
And you know what? Silence can seem like a lot. It can be hard to take time to get silent. It can also be awkward sitting in silence for a minute or two.
It can be hard to understand the benefits of practicing silence…
UNTIL....
you actually experience what happens when you get silent.
It is glorious.
As the mother of a terrific two year old, I have learned to cherish this discipline (Can I get an amen, toddler moms?). Before becoming a mom, it was easy to set my alarm for 6am, brew the coffee and sit at the table with bible and journal in hand. My schedule was predictable and consistent. Ah, sweet silence was easily accessible.
Then I had Ezra (our son) and everything changed.
I found my sleep schedule all messed up. My life had little to no order, between nursing at all hours (for hours at a time), to blow outs, spit ups and clean ups. I knew I needed to take time, but things seemed so unpredictable and when I found myself having time I was exhausted and needed to pump (My nursing sisters know the struggle). Joshua tried often to make suggestions. When we were in bed together, he’d ask if I wanted to join him for time in the secret place, I’d resist. While I was pumping, he’d recommend reading on my iPad. When I was nursing, he’d recommend listening to a sermon. All great suggestions, but to be honest I was missing the will and had forgotten the power of secret place time.
Thankfully, I had a great community of women in my life. Before I gave birth to Ezra, I told them, “give me one month, if after that month you don’t see me back in the swing of things I give you permission to call me out”. I had known so many of mothers who had given birth and their children had become their idols. Life revolved around the kid and everything else suffered because the kid took priority. It seemed they always had an excuse for not being in their word, not praying, not in community. As a result, I saw their relationships with the Lord and those around them suffer drastically. I knew that if so many mothers had succumb to that reality then it would be too easy to get stuck in that rut. I was determined not to let that be me. So fast foward and here I was with a newborn. I saw myself falling deeper and deeper into the trap and quickly remembered my commitment; “Don’t let me do it!”, and that was enough to kick me out of the funk. Community is a beautiful thing.
I started making time. MAKING TIME. And if something got in the way of that, I’d schedule a back-up time. No it was not perfect, yes I failed many times, but I was going to take care of my Spirit. Around that time, I dove into a study on the 12 disciplines (which I will link below) and began to practice them regularly and guys it all changed. I started getting healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually. I started hearing clearly from the Lord again and it was satisfying to see the fruit of that time.
So, what did it look like to practice the discipline of silence? Well, for me I started off small. I started with setting a timer, a legit timer, for two minutes and getting silent. I’d just sit there in a silent room, all alone. My mind would want to wander and I’d bring it back and try my best to meditate on Jesus, a scripture, a word, a thought. Eventually, it got easier and I desired more time in silence. So, I began to extend my time in silence. Minutes after, I would start to feel lighter, refreshed, my mind was clearer and my attention was sharpened.
What was happening in the silence?
I was tuning out the noise.
I was taking every thought captive.
I was submitting my thoughts to Jesus Christ.
I was allowing the Holy Spirit to renew my mind.
I was making space for God to speak to me.
And y’all that is some powerful stuff. Everyday, I was giving my mind this divine reset. I was making room for Jesus in my thought life. I was allowing what He had to say to me or about me to reign and abide in my mind. It felt good, refreshing, holy, anointed, sweet and comforting.
I started to realize I could make time for silence anywhere, at anytime, even with a room full of people. It was my “X-Men”, “mutant-like” ability. To all the “Last Airbender” fans out there, I was Aang and I just learned how to enter the Spirit World at any moment (Yea, dope, I know). I started “jumping in” when things were getting hard or I was struggling with a thought, lie or anxiety. I’d go the bathroom, leave to another room, wait to stop at a red light, tell someone I needed a minute and I’d just go for it. I’d surrender my thoughts to Him and ask Him to invade my thoughts. To show me how He saw me, what He thought of the situation, to show me His perspective or what I could be doing differently. It worked, and still does every time. I would end these times of silence filled with clarity, less (or no) anxiety, the ability to express myself and/or just some good, old fashioned patience.
In the practice of silence, I was finding strength. Which is all types of ironic because we live in a world that can so often see silence as a weakness. However, that was never the case. Jesus was teaching me that the discipline of silence is never a weakness, it is a strength. It is the ability to surrender control. It is the willingness to partner with the Spirit and make time to listen to what He has to say. It is removing ourselves from the noise (the noise of family’s opinion, co-workers negativity, friends counsel, peer pressure, boss’ demands) and choosing to only hear His truth. That type of removal takes strength of body and mind.
“...Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is
your strength...” Isaiah 30:15
So be strong. Remember that your strength doesn’t come from how much you can bench press or how eloquently you can speak. It doesn’t come from your ability to please people or how well you can multitask. It doesn’t not come from how well you can manage your two year old or organize your house. Your strength lies in quietness and confidence found in Him. Your strength is in your ability to step into silence and partner with His Spirit.
So this week, when the attacks come, when the overwhelming thoughts flood in, when things don’t go as planned or you don’t know what to do, take time to stop, be silent and listen. Jesus wants to speak to you.
I challenge you to take two minutes every day this week and practice being silent.
Set a timer.
Surrender and listen.
I pray that in that place of silence, you would be filled with what the Spirit is saying and partner with that. For in the quietness, the silence and the stillness lies your strength.
Until Next Time,
We Are Ecclesia
IF: Equip Study: Enjoying Jesus
