For those who have a desire to hear what God [sometimes referred to as the still small voice] might be speaking to them, their initial encounters with what seems to be total silence on the part of the Divine can be more than unsettling.

A range of questions and concerns may ensue: Is God upset with me? Am I tone-deaf or spiritually unable to hear him? Is this silence due to my resistance to really listen, particularly for fear of what I might hear?

The good news? Even when we are hesitant to give voice to our questions yet somehow manage to utter them in the silence of our hearts, God hears. And loves us through the process anyway.

What then, does it mean when our sense of God’s presence is one of uncertainty or uneasiness?

Silence means different things to different people. Just as you and I have characteristics and behaviors unique to who we are as individuals created in the image and likeness of God, our sense of Divine silence is also different. How we seek God, how long we have sought to develop an intimate relationship with him, our cultural and life experiences are all contributing factors.

NOTE: There will come a time in the journey of all Christians who persevere and mature in their desire to pray, listen, and hear what God is saying when silence will be part of the experience, sometimes for days, weeks, months, even years. This kind of silence is for the purpose of maturing our faith and trust in him.

Until then, there are several ways we can open ourselves to God’s voice in what may initially seem to be silence, but as we will discover, the Divine presence hidden in plain sight.

  • Listen with your senses. As human beings, we have been gifted with five senses. Do we “hear” the voice of God when we stand in awe of a fiery sunset, awash in layers and shades of reds and golds? Or what happens when we taste a sweet dessert of ice cream and fresh fruit? Or how about those occasions when we touch the face of a child or grandchild? Or open the kitchen window to inhale the intoxicating scent of a gentle, spring rain? All ways God speaks to us.
  • Listen with your heart and the Spirit. It’s one thing to “hear” with our physical ears, to be constantly presented with thoughts and ideas we encounter or that come to us throughout the day. However, to listen with my heart and the Spirit means I choose to get quiet enough to hear the gentle nudges and insights from within that speak to me in ways I cannot ignore. Which is probably why this aspect of listening can be such a challenge. Most of us have an amazing capacity to busy ourselves in an effort to drown out the stuff that may be uncomfortable for various reasons.
  • Listen with your intellect. We have been gifted with a brain to be able to think and ponder, to engage with thoughts and ideas in ways that equip us to contribute to the well-being of others and ourselves. At the same time, we get in trouble with the head stuff when we choose to make knowledge and information our only source of the wisdom God desires to give us. Don’t ignore the facts. Allow them to be considered in light of your senses, heart, and the Spirit.
  • Listen with intention and openness. I’ve lost track of the number of times I have sat in my prayer chair, stared out the window—and quickly found myself organizing the grocery list or making notes about emails or phone calls that needed my attention. This sort of behavior is common to all of us. So many distractions. Combined with so many ingrained attitudes of I’m-not-going-to-change-my-mind about thus and such.
  • The key to listening with intention and openness is to find the blessed balance between being attentive and not closing doors. In other words, use the imagination God has given you to discover new insight as you choose to keep the Divine the focus. For example: some of the best solutions for solving a problem have come to me while seated in that same chair, staring out the window. I was “open” to the still small voice as it desired to speak, not to some preconceived notion of what I thought would appear as an answer.

So, is silence really silent? Maybe. Maybe not. Yet with practice and a desire to hear, we can trust God to speak to us in the perfect way we need to hear, at the perfect time.

How do you feel in silence? Any kind of silence?

Do you believe God can be found, or will find you in the silence?

Are you open to silence being used by God to mature your faith and trust in him?