This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. God wants to be present with you, and setting aside time for silence can create a space where you become aware of God in a particular way, so that you can start to notice God throughout your day, no matter how busy or noisy it may be. Practicing silence has been a way for Christians to connect with God since the days of the early church. This can help you to stop focusing on your thoughts and be still. Focus on your breathing, or your heartbeat, or the feeling of your hands touching your chair.A specific place, action, scent, or sound can help you to acknowledge the beginning of your practice. Have a physical way to let yourself know that it’s time for silence.Sitting in silence for just five minutes at a time is enough to begin with. If you are wanting to experience more of God’s presence in your life this year, and if you want to start a practice of silence, here are my biggest pieces of advice: But most of the time, it’s just me, being quiet, allowing myself to let go of all the things of daily life and spending time in the presence of God. Do I find it hard to step away from life in order to sit in silence? Sometimes. Do I sometimes get distracted by thinking about something else? I do.
When the timer goes off, I decide if I want to sit quietly a bit longer, or if I’m done.ĭo I sometimes feel like I hear something from God during my silent times? I do. I’m not really focused on controlling my breath it’s just a way to let go of other thoughts. Focusing on my breathing can help me with that. If a thought comes into my mind, I try not to get caught up in it. I set a timer for seven minutes, and I close my eyes to enter a time of internal silence. I turn on some very quiet instrumental music. So here’s what I do: I find a quiet chair (usually in our basement office) where I can close the door, so that I’m not worried about other family members interrupting me. She even suggested that internal silence, for me, doesn’t have to mean there is a total lack of sound in my environment. You can just be present with one another.” She told me to set a short timeframe, at least to start, and to have a space and an action that can signal to me that it’s time for silence.
And you don’t have to talk to God, and you don’t have to expect God to talk to you. My spiritual director told me, “Imagine that you and God are sitting on a couch together, just being quiet together. Like running, singing, or cooking, silence is a skill we have to cultivate, and far too often we set out to practice silence in ways that we aren’t prepared for, with expectations that silence can’t meet.ĭuring the last year, I’ve started practicing silence in a new way, at the advice of a spiritual director, and it has been so helpful for me as I seek closeness with God. I have a theory about why I (and so many others) find it difficult to spend time in true silence: we haven’t been trained for silence. What I didn’t realize was that it isn’t silent if you are talking, and it also isn’t silent if someone is talking to you. I had so many things I was thinking, and I also felt like I was supposed to be hearing something from God during these “silent” times. I didn’t fall asleep, but I did get caught up in my own thoughts, praying and talking to God, and not actually being internally silent at all. Most of us laughed about our naps and didn’t give it another thought.Īt another retreat, I was told to spend time daily in silence, clearing my mind of all distractions and thoughts, but again, I wasn’t able to really be silent. You might fall asleep, but don’t worry.” Well, I did fall asleep, and so did many of my classmates. W hen I was in my first year of seminary, our class went on a retreat where one of the exercises was to spend time in silence.
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