You actually need the silent treatment.
No, I don’t mean not talking to someone you’re mad at. What I mean is that you might need silence right now. Once I was told by a friend to try to be silent for an hour. At first I saw this as kind of funny, because I am known to be a fairly talkative person. But then I tried it…
“Be silent for an hour.” As a kid, this was one of the worst punishments that could be handed to us. But as adults, we can’t even seem get a few minutes of it in our lives. There is always something making noise: Alarms, texts, emails, cars, radio, music, friends, family, kids. All of these things are supplying a constant wave of sound, and making our attention change to something else sporadically throughout the day. It can get very exhausting very quickly.
It becomes no wonder that we have problems sitting down and trying to concentrate on prayer. Our minds are so used to being bombarded with sound and distraction that we’re used to switching our attention from thing to thing. When we attempt to be quiet, we instantly start looking around, fidgeting, turning on music, singing, etc.
This can help to think clearly, internally process, and unwind from a hectic day. The best side effect, though, is being able to hear the voice of Jesus better in prayer.
There is a famous quote from Blaise Pascal that says, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
Doesn’t this make sense though? Satan wants to drown out the voice of the Lord in our lives so we cannot hear him. Most of the time we don’t realize it until we catch ourselves saying, “I just can’t hear God talking to me.” Part of it is because we aren’t used to listening.
So try it. Today when you’re driving to and from work, don’t turn on any noise. Have someone take over something for a while so you can just have a few minutes of silence. Just appreciate the peace and quiet, and listen for God’s voice. It might be exactly what you need.
