“Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God for God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.”
King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
I’m teaching this Sunday. We are walking through the book of Ecclesiastes and I’m teaching on chapter 5. I’ve been looking at the words above all week and I’m amazed at how little I seek to listen in God’s presence. The art/discipline of silence is counter to just about everything else in my world, and I feel the impact of it’s absence. Adele Calhoun in her excellent book “Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us” says regarding silence…
“In quietness we often notice things we would rather not notice or feel. Pockets of sadness or anger or loneliness or impatience begin to surface. Our own outer agenda looms larger than our desire to be with God in silence.”
I’m not sure where this finds you today, but I know there is a deep place that stirs as I think about being in God’s presence empty-handed and silent. I’ve realized that I presume a lot, and in those presumptions often miss God’s heart. Yet there is also a hope…a hope that if I’ll be still and silent, He will move and speak.
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