1/10/07: Silence

In the online community I frequent, we've been discussing our 2007 devotionals. This is my plan (held loosely) for my prayer times for the next year:

Morning: Morning Office from 1928 Book of Common Prayer, including daily Psalter readings, which means reading through the entire Psalter every month. Also, I am reading and meditating upon My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. The kids and I are also reading the Scripture selections (NIV) for each morning listed in the BCP.

Evening: Evening Office from 1928 BCP, including Psalter readings. I am also reading from the Old Testament in The Message and reading the daily meditations in The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living, which consists of excerpts from the works of Father Thomas Keating.

While reading the latter work last night, I ran across this excerpt that I thought was worthy of sharing here:

"There are all kinds of ways in which God speaks to us -- through our thoughts or any one of our faculties. But keep in mind that God's first language is silence."

That thought has been reverberating about in my mind since I read it last night. How can we listen to God if His primary language is silence? It seems to me that we need to share in His silence in order to be able to hear Him.

For me, it's difficult to hear God in the midst of homeschooling my four kids, in the midst of noise and confusion and multi-tasking. It's when the house quiets down for the night -- when the kids are abed and the TV is off and the iPods are stowed -- that's when I hear Him. When the only noise is the occasional sputter of the fire and tick of the clock -- when my pen is filling my journal with the account of my days, joined to my thoughts and ponderings -- that's when He speaks. In the quiet. In the dark. When my mind is free to unite with His. That's why getting away for an occasional day to drive alone to Julian or someplace quiet is so important to me. Once Keith gets his home computer fixed so he can once again bring his work here to do, I will take my twice-monthly days to be in the quiet, to nestle in close to His heart, to listen to His still, small voice, and to enjoy His deep, profound silence.

Find Him in His holy silence ... and meet Him there.