Prayer as listening...
The Need for Silence
“If I were a physician, and if I were allowed to prescribe just one remedy for all the ills of the modern world, I would prescribe silence. For even if the Word of God were proclaimed in the modern world, how could one hear it with so much noise? Therefore, create silence.”
- Soren Kierkegaard, For Self-Examination: 1851
To hear God’s voice in the Scriptures, and to receive it as a personal word for you, requires solitude, silence and a listening heart. Quietude enables us to be receptive and awake to the divine presence, for God is the Living Word that speaks to every generation, though he is heard only to those have an “ear to hear” what the Spirit is saying...
Our silence is a matter of worship, for how can we truly hear the word of God when we are full of ourselves? It is when we turn away from the chatter of our soul that we are able to truly listen. Being still and silent confesses our faith that God is present. Your silence honors him in the depths of your heart.
When we pray and seek God, the first temptation is to forget who God is, and we may busy ourselves with anxious words and various requests. We may also use “vain repetitions” or “empty babblings” that are common among those who do not yet truly know God’s heart. But Yeshua said that your heavenly Father sees in secret and knows what you need before you ask him, and therefore the only important thing is to seek Him and his blessing (Matt. 6:32-33). We do not need words to speak with God more than we need the will to be present and focused on him. “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
“Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:1). God will keep you in perfect peace as you lean upon him in trust (Isa. 26:3). “For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isa. 30:15). Yea, “the work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness will be quietness and assurance forever” (Isa. 32:17).
When we quiet our minds and turn to God, the focus shifts away from ourselves to the one who loves us and gives himself for us. The “eyes of our heart” will be opened; we will let go of our desire to be in control and understand that God is all we need...
Of course we sometimes use words when we pray, but these words echo the deeper truths of what the Spirit is saying to us... We might say, “O Lord, I come to you and believe you are the Shepherd of my life. You alone can help me; you alone know what I need before I even ask, and you therefore know how I need you, O God, more than all else. Forgive me for losing sight of you, for my unbelief. I believe; help Thou my unbelief. As it is written, “strengthen, O God, what you have done for us” (Psalm 68:28). Carry me close to your heart; help me to rest in your presence and to honor your great name.
The Psalms of the Scriptures are Spirit-filled words of intercession given on our behalf, and they provide great Torah about our communion with the Lord. For example, consider Psalm 23. It begins with a metaphor: יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר׃ -“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). The Spirit uses David’s heart to reveal God’s character to us. God is my shepherd. He calls me his own and knows who I am. He watches over me and guides the course of my life. He always meets my needs. “The Lord tends his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (Isa. 40:11).
David continues his song: “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:2). He leads me to Elim, to places of his rest, to beautiful green pastures with refreshing waters, and there he makes me lie down in sweet surrender in his presence. He knows what I need.
“He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:3). Beside the still waters he tenderly heals me, returning my heart to hope and blessing me with his strength. He does this by speaking his love and care to my soul, calling me by name, and showing me that I belong to him. נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב -He returns my soul: he brings me back to life...
“He leads me in paths of righteousness for the sake of his name.” In his healing I am led further in the ways of his truth and love, and he lifts me up “for his name’s sake,” that is, because of who He is, the One who is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exod. 34:6). It is His righteousness that upholds and justifies my existence. He opens to me the “paths of pleasantness and peace” (Prov. 3:17).
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). I will fear no evil because the Lord is with me, and nothing can separate me from his love (Rom. 8:35-36). Death is a “shadow,” not ultimately real or all-consuming for those who are born from above. In this world I still must walk through the shadowy vale, but I am not consumed by it, and the rod of God’s strength comforts me.
God will lead me in paths of his righteousness even when that path veers through darkness and gloom. Though I cannot see in that darkness, he is present to guide me still...
Therefore I will fear no evil, nor be in dread, for God is with me and will never leave nor forsake me. I am not alone; not even as I face my own death and take my last breath, for God is there with me in the darkest hour, when I am brought to the precipice, in my helplessness and frailty, for then God is with me in a special way to collect my soul; he will not forsake me in my moment of utmost need. “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). Because his lovingkindness is better than life; my lips shall praise Him, even from the dust of death itself...
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Psalm 23:5). The Lord himself sets a table before me in the presence of my great enemy - death itself and the devil who feeds on the ravages of lost hope. He then anoints my head with oil and fills my cup with overflowing life and blessing. “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will lift up the cup of salvation (כּוֹס־יְשׁוּעוֹת), and call upon the name of the LORD” (Psalm 116:12-13). Amen. This is a picture of a great banquet, a celebration of God’s faithfulness, in the face of the fangless specter of death itself. Praise God! Death is swallowed up by his invincible life!
“Surely goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life,” despite the waning shadow of death, God’s love will follow or “pursue” me to hold me fast -- the Hebrew word (רָדַף) means to “chase” or pursue after something to securely take hold of it. “And I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). This is my final end - to be in the presence of God forever and ever, returning to my true home in heaven, the habitation where God’s glory dwells and where I am fully and forever welcomed as his beloved child.
I started this article by stressing the importance of quietude in our relationship with God. “Hear O Israel” is the essence of the matter. When we quiet our hearts and turn to the Lord we will find him present, as it says, “You will search for me and find me when you search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Note that this is the search of the heart, the place of our inmost passion, and not the search of the head or the way of religious rituals. Being still and silent confesses our faith that God is truly present. Silence honors him from the depths of the heart. Yes, we still articulate words when we pray, but our words form a response to what we have heard from the Spirit. God calls to us and we answer him, and that is always the order. And that is the meaning of teshuvah, or turning to God, which is the meaning of the Shema: “Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the Lord alone, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4-5).
Amen, may God be pleased to help us listen to his heart.
Isaiah 30:15
כִּי כֹה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה
קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל
בְּשׁוּבָה וָנַחַת תִּוָּשֵׁעוּן
בְִּהַשְׁקֵט וּבְבִטְחָה
תִּהְיֶה גְּבוּרַתְכֶם
“For thus says the LORD God,
the Holy One of Israel:
‘In returning and rest
you shall be saved,
in quietness and in confidence
shall be your strength.’”
Isaiah 30:15 Hebrew page (pdf)
Really enjoyed listening to your Hebrew. I’m learning it and it was nice to hear your pronunciations.
Shalom. Peace and Blessings. Amen Listen for the Word of God! What a blessed encouraging message also a confirmation as I listen and read the Word of God daily early, during the day and at night. Growing in listening. You are a blessing. Love Greetings in Yeshua.