One would think that the sound of God would be a mighty blast of the trumpet or the crashing sound of a tree falling in a forest. One might expect that the Voice of God would deafen the ears of His creatures and force us down on our knees.
Yet, in the silence of the burning bush, Moses heard the voice of God.
"Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid′ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here am I.” Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."
Exodus 3: 1-6
Elijah met God, not in the thunders of the wind, earthquakes and fire, but in the silence that followed.
"And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. And when Eli′jah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Eli′jah?”
1 Kings: 11-14
Our days are blasted with noise that we both invite into our lives and noise which we do not. The media explodes in our homes bringing with it sounds and words that are not from God. Music, louder than the voice of God, pounds our ears. Often there is no rest from these influences.
Modern day saints have spoken of the need for silence.
Mother Teresa said: "We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
Pope Francis has said, "In the history of salvation, neither in the clamour nor in the blatant, but the shadows and the silence are the places in which God chose to reveal himself to humankind."
Pope Francis has also said: Each of us knows how mysteriously the Lord works in our hearts, in our souls. And what is the cloud, the power, the way the Holy Spirit covers our mystery? This cloud in us, in our lives is called silence: the silence is exactly the cloud that covers the mystery of our relationship with the Lord, of our holiness and of our sins. This mystery that we cannot explain. But when there is no silence in our lives, the mystery is lost, it goes away. Guarding the mystery with silence! That is the cloud, that is the power of God for us, that is the strength of the Holy Spirit."
With silence, we allow the Holy Spirit, then, into our lives. By surrendering in this silence, by shutting off the noise, we are gifted with the presence of God within us and He can then work in our lives. Think of all the noise you hear. Is this God? Most likely not. God can find you and prompt you in the midst of the noise. God is a God of miracles and He hungers for your soul. However, if we seek the presence of God in our lives, we need to seek silence and prayer. We need to let The Lord envelope us in His love which is a gift of silence.
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