Daily Devotionals : Silence

Our spiritual well-being is important to our overall well-being. When our spirits are calm and at peace, our bodies benefit.

The Bible tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Inspirational music, reading, and praying out loud can all help us do that, but there should also be times when we commune with the Lord in silence. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

The goal of this spiritual exercise is to bring peace to your spirit by taking 10 or 15 minutes for silent reflection.

Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. You may want to read a Psalm or listen to or sing a hymn or gospel song to clear your mind of other business and help you “enter into His courts with praise.” Then reflect on one or more of the following thoughts.

From the world of sin and noise
And hurry I withdraw;
For the small and inward voice
I wait with humble awe:
Silent am I now and still,
Dare not in Thy presence move;
To my waiting soul reveal
The secret of Thy Love.
—Charles Wesley

Relax and let go of everything as you enter into the awareness of God’s presence. You can relax and let go of everything, precisely because God is present. In His presence nothing really matters; all things are in His hands. Tension, anxiety, worry, frustration all melt away before him, as snow before the sun. —James Borst

Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn;
Let noise and vanity be gone:
In secret silence of the mind,
My heaven, and there my God, I find.
—Isaac Watts

There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well-nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.
—F. W. Faber

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Psalm 46:10 ESV - “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 62:5 ESV - For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Proverbs 17:28 ESV - Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.