Healing through Silence and solitude

To kick off today’s lesson, I did something that made people feel awkward. I sat down in front of everyone and simply remained quiet for a moment.

Week 5 Guide

As we continue our series of Spiritual Go Bag, we take a look at something vital: supplies for healing. Band-Aids, sprays, things to stitch yourself up—these are essential for a Go Bag. Our spiritual go bag, however, has something that many find unexpected and that makes them feel uncomfortable: silence and Solitude.

READ: Luke 5:16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Withdrew: Hupochoreo – Retire Quietly

Desolate: Eremos – Lonely, desert, solitary

Jesus’ first big miracle took place at a wedding, where He turned water into wine. This would be John 2. However, Luke tells us in chapter 4 that he withdrew to a lonely place before that happened. In this place that the spirit drew him to, he entered silence and solitude while also facing various temptations from Satan. Then, in Luke 5, we see that Jesus continued to practice this idea of silence and solitude.

Later, in the final hours of his life, he took his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. he left them in one spot and went a bit further to pray, giving him a moment of silence and solitude.

ASK: Why was it important for Jesus to do this?

He did this specifically to hear from God.

Read Psalm 46:7-11

BE STILL: Raphah – to Slacken

When you look at Rapha, there’s an interesting link between them. Although they are spelled differently, they are pronounced the same.

To HEAL: rapha – to mend or to cure

Illustration: When I was a teenager I had surgery on my feet. It came time for the doctor to pull the pins out of one of my feet but it was going to be difficult. The doctor told me, “You have to do your best to be still so we can do this.” If I weren’t still, then he wouldn’t be able to do what needed to happen for me to heal properly.

Something happens when you get away from the crowds and go alone to just be with Jesus.

BENEFITS:

1. You get away from distractions and noise.

2. You can be your true self with Christ because you are free from others’ expectations of you.

3. You are set free from influencing and being influencing by other’s words.

4. You become more finely tuned to hearing God’s voice.

READ: 1 Kings 19:11-14

Here we see the prophet experiencing the Lord not in all the large noisy things, but the quiet. If we want to learn to hear the voice of God, we need to learn to sit in the silence.

History:

A long time ago, some Christians really wanted to hear from God without all the noise and distractions of the world. These people were called the Desert Fathers. They moved out into the desert to live, read the Bible, and spend quiet time with God.

One of their leaders, Abbot Macarius, once told the group, “Brothers, run away.” They were confused—they were already far from everyone! But then he pointed to his mouth and said, “Run away from this.”

He was teaching them that sometimes, we need to get away, not just from places but also from talking too much. Silence helps us listen to God and to what’s going on in our hearts. When we keep silent, we free others from the bondage of words, whether they be affirming or destructive.

Proverbs 18:21 (NIV) The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Practice:

This may not seem that difficult, but this discipline, more so than others, is self-explanatory. The key to silence and solitude is to find a place where you can be alone, away from the crowd to just be quiet and alone with God.

For some Silence & Solitude will be part of your devotional life. You’ll want to distance yourself from the crowd.

Richard Foster wrote, “Silence frees us from the need to control others. One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless. We are accustomed to relying upon words to manage and control others. A frantic stream of words flows from us in an attempt to straighten others out. We want so desperately for them to agree with us, to see things our way. We evaluate people, judge people, condemn people. We devour people with our words. Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on that.”

Challenge:

During the week, find 3 times when you can spend just 15 minutes away from people. Don’t think or worry about schoolwork and other stresses. Just sit in the silence with God.