Reading:
He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lordis about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces 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 sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19.11-13
Reflection:
Silence has always been a big part of spiritual practice, but many have never tried it!
Solitude and silence can help us hear from God, because we can easily lose sensitivity to that still, small voice in all the noise and activity of our lives. In silence, you realise how little you hear that voice at other times.
Silence can be hard. Life is busy and finding a space and time for silence can be difficult. You have a thousand thoughts, like 'what's for dinner?'! But the beauty of silence is that it's not God speaking through someone else, such as in a sermon or a Christian book, but God speaking directly to you.
Prayer:
...be silent...
Action:
Try silent prayer for five minutes – even if it's difficult! Make a note afterwards of anything God seemed to say to you, through thoughts or feelings that came into your mind.
Adapted for website and FaceBook purposes from material written by Thelma Commey (Methodist Youth President 2019/2020)