THE WHYS AND HOWS OF SILENCE. WHY VALUE SILENCE?

The Holy Cross Monastery houses 14 Episcopalian monks, and opens its doors to lay people who want to “retreat”.  I accepted their hospitality and spent 24 hours in this unique contemplative environment.  The SILENCE that pervaded that experience was loud.  It penetrated my heart.  After adjusting to the quiet and the expectations of the monks, I could feel the silence work its way into the hard leather of my soul. My heart beat slowed down.  My mind quieted and rested from thought. My shoulders relaxed.  I breathed.In two blogs, I want to share with you why the LORD values silenceand how it might be achieved.The Hebrew word for silence is raphah, (pronounced “rafa").  It means to slack off, to cease striving or to give up, to be struck dumb.   In Isaiah 5:24 raphah is used to describe dry grass collapsing in the midst of a brush fire.  Picture that,  when you are seeking silence.  You are the grass, dried up, and you just wither down into the heat and let go.This Hebrew word for “silence” is very similar to the Hebrew word for “heal” (rapha, also pronounced “rafa", but with no H.).  There are two word pictures of rapha (to heal):  that of a torn fabric being stitched back together;  or a piece of pottery-in-the-making being reshaped by the potter wetting his hands and remolding the pot.The silence or raphah I experienced in the monastery brought healing or rapha to me — as the solitude and quietness mended the tears within me.  I felt like a pot in the making, with the Father’s hands soothing over my rough, imperfect spots with the cool water of His Spirit.According to the psalmists, silence can provoke difficulties.— When I kept silent, my bones wasted away. (Ps. 32:3)— When I held my peace, my sorrow was stirred up. (Ps. 39:2)— When I wrestled with my disobedience, at times God silenced the sounds of my songs. (Ezek.26:13)I share this with you because silence is not easy.  Perhaps we fear silence because in it we have to face how we feel.But generally Scripture declares the benefit of silence:—  Cease Striving and know that I am God. (Ps. 46:10)—  My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. (Ps. 62:1)—  When I listen to him in silence I gain new strength. (is. 41:1)In the next blog, I will describe how this SILENCE was achieved while I was at the Holy Cross Monastery.  Here, let me share this:  through silence, or because of silence, I felt a change within me.  My body relaxed as my heart beat slowed down.  My mind settled, and accepted the periods of silence. I ceased striving to fill that quietness with noise or voices or even ideas. My emotions moved into a peacefulness I have not experienced for a long time.When I read Revelations 8:1 this morning in the midst of my word study on “silence”, this fact appeared:  it was completely new to me, but it did not surprise me.  “There was a half hour of silence in heaven.”  (That occurred with the seventh seal was opened).  Knowing what I know today, I’ll bet there are many more periods of silence in heaven, many quiet places in the heavenly realms, numerous enclaves where the peace that passes all understanding is the pervasive atmosphere.I want to hear the Father’s voice.  To do that, silence must reign first.How can we bring this heavenly silence onto earth?                Stay tuned. In Christ,