“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”
Revelation 8:1
This past week I took a train in Finland in one of their quiet cars. On the back of each seat, in plain view of the person in the seat behind, this label is placed:
No one was talking. No phone conversations. Utter silence. Travelers are left to enjoy the ride and take in the scenery in peace, such as this one:
The quiet zone brought me back to the time I visited the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London one Sunday morning (Charles Spurgeon pastored there) several years ago. As everyone made their way into the sanctuary no one was talking. No one carried in a coffee cup. No video screens. A sense of hushed, holy reverence filled the room. They were preparing to meet God and understood what it meant to approach the holy, all-powerful Creator of the Universe. It wasn’t long before I sensed the presence of God. I was in awe and loved every moment. Those who have encountered the Lord know there are moments when we don’t want to, even dare not, say a word.
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.”
Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
This is quite different from what happens at many modern churches where the atmosphere is casual, people cruise in with Starbucks cups, smartphones are chirping, texts are sending, while a large video screen counts down the minutes before the worship band blasts their first song through the mega-watt sound system. Throughout the service there is always noise. I attended one church that had several minutes of prayer, but even then they had the worship band playing, which was a distraction. I heard recently that they discontinued their prayer time.
“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.”
Psalm 62:1
Imagine seeing a sign in front the main sanctuary of the church you are attending that reads like this:
Silence, please.
You are entering the presence of a holy God.
Water only, no coffee.
Turn off your phone.
I would love to have a church service that either began or included 5-10 minutes of silence, with no worship band playing or other distractions. Waiting on God in silence forces our attention on Him. Isn’t that why we go to church? In silence we hear Him, encounter Him, experience the beautiful blessing of His Presence. Even better, I would love to see an entire church service that was devoted prayer with stretches of waiting on God in silence. Some would be weeping with joy. Sure, a few would head for the exits, but so what? There are plenty of other churches they can be comfortable in.
Regardless of how a church orders its service, you can experience God in the blessing of silence whenever you want, whether it be at home, or a day or two away alone with Him during a personal retreat. If it’s been awhile since you’re rested in silence with Him, I encourage you to do so today.
Do you see how Rogue this is?
