Spiritual Formation Silence and Solitude Lesson 2 Purpose: To learn about the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude and begin to put them into practice. Opening Question: Who likes to be alone? Who likes to be with people most of the time? How do you feel when you are alone? Last week we discussed the importance of spiritual disciplines for spiritual formation. It is impossible for us to become like Christ on our own, but spiritual disciplines are a way that we can give ourselves over to God in order to be transformed. Our lesson this week will focus on silence and solitude. These two spiritual disciplines go together but are not exactly the same. In silence, we quiet the noise in our lives to be more attentive to God. In solitude, we make space in our lives to be alone with God. Here are a few ways these are defined by others: Silence: Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible: [Silence is a] closing off our souls from sounds, whether noise, music, or words, so that we may 1 of 16
better still the inner chatter and clatter of our noisy hearts and be increasingly attentive to God. 1 Adele Calhoun: The discipline of silence invites us to leave behind the competing demands of our outer world for time alone with Jesus. Silence offers a way of paying attention to the Spirit of God and what he brings to the surface of our souls. 2 Solitude: Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible: [Solitude is] the creation of an open, empty space in our lives by purposefully abstaining from interaction with other human beings, so that, freed from competing loyalties, we can be found by God. 3 Adele Calhoun: The practice of solitude involves scheduling enough uninterrupted time in a distraction-free environment that you experience isolation and are alone with God. 4 One thing most people notice fairly quickly when reading the gospels, is how often Jesus withdraws to lonely places to pray. 1 2 3 4 Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible, 2312 Calhoun, 122. Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible, 2313. Calhoun, 127. 2 of 16
(If appropriate, have different people in the class read the following passages): Mark 1:35 - In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 5 Luke 4:42 - "At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. Luke 5:16 - But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray. Matthew 14:23 - And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came he was there alone,... Luke 6:12 - Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. Luke 9:18 - Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them... Why do you think Jesus spent time withdrawing from others to spend time with God? It might be tempting to think that Jesus withdrawing to be alone with God is something that is expected of him as the Son of God - but not something that we need to do since we are mere humans. However, 5 All Scripture quotations in this lesson from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989. 3 of 16
when we read Scripture we notice that Jesus is not the only one who spends time with God alone. Can you think of any examples of others in the Old or New Testament who spent time alone with God or quiet with God? Some examples: Jacob - wrestled with God in Genesis 32:22-32 after he is left alone Moses - experienced the burning bush when he was alone with his sheep in Exodus 3,4; goes on Mount Sinai alone in Exodus 19:20-25, in Exodus 20:21, the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew new to the thick darkness where God was. God gave Moses the law while he was with him in Exodus 20-31 and again in Exodus 33, 34. (It is Exodus 34:29-35 that speaks of Moses face shining after he speaks with God.) Gideon was alone when the angel of the Lord appeared to him to call him to lead the Israelites (Judges 6:11-18) 4 of 16
Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord...She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. (1 Samuel 1:9,10). As the story goes on, it certainly seems she has gone alone to the temple to pray. David - as a shepherd spent much time alone and wrote psalms as he was alone (When Samuel comes to anoint a son of Jesse, David is the only son away from home, taking care of the sheep - I Samuel 16:11, 12); also: 2 Samuel 7:18 Then David went in and sat before the Lord, and said... Elijah - lived by the brook being taken care of by the God through the ravens (I Kings 17:1-7), goes to the wilderness alone when desperate, depressed, and afraid (I Kings 19:1-10), meets God alone at Mount Horeb (I Kings 19:11-18) Mary - alone when Gabriel appears to her (Luke 1:26-38) Zechariah - alone when an angel came and told him he would have a son (Luke 1:8-23) 5 of 16
Peter went on the roof to pray when he had the vision about clean and unclean animals (Acts 10:9-16). Time alone with God is not something that was only intended for Jesus. We not only see examples of people spending time alone with God throughout Scripture, we are also instructed to spend time with God in solitude and in silence. In Mark 6:30-6:33, Jesus instructs the apostles to rest after a time of intense ministry. The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. In other places in the gospels, when it mentions Jesus going to deserted places, he is going to pray, to spend time with God. So, in this instance, we would assume that he intended the same thing for the apostles - they were to go to a deserted place to spend time with God. The apostles were busy people - busy ministering, learning, teaching. Silence and solitude is not only for those who have time for it, nor is it only for those who are introverts. Silence and solitude is for everyone. We must resist culture, though, in order to practice these disciplines. 6 of 16
What in our culture makes it difficult to find time for silence and solitude? We see repeatedly in the gospels that when Jesus or the apostles try to get away, they are often called back into ministry by other people. Henri Nouwen has written much on the idea of moving from solitude to community to ministry as Jesus did. We must follow the example of Jesus in starting in solitude first - spending time with God first. Of course, the apostles did not face some of the distractions that we face. What in our culture adds noise? How can we get away from it? Our world is filled with so much noise that it becomes difficult to discern truth from lies, and the important from the unimportant. We are constantly bombarded with information whether it is on television, through the internet, or through social media. We get news from Fox, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Twitter, Facebook, People magazine, NPR, ESPN, etc. We get a picture of what life should be like from advertisements, HGTV, Southern Living, the Cooking Channel...the list goes on and on. Our days are often inundated with noise. What kind of effect does this noise have on us? 7 of 16
This noise can often lead us to feelings of anxiety, loss of control, and discontentment. We are led to believe that we are the most important things in the world. The catchphrase fake news is popular now, but Christians have been called to discern what is true from lies for centuries. Who is most important? What is most important? We cannot expect the world to answer these questions for us. We need time with God in silence in order to focus ourselves on the King of our lives. Ruth Haley Barton wrote in her book, Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God s Transforming Presence, To enter into solitude and silence is to take the spiritual life seriously...to quiet the noise of our lives, to cease the constant striving of human effort, to pull away from our absorption in human relationships for a time in order to give God our undivided attention. 6 It is in giving God our undivided attention that we can be reminded of who and what is most important. Read Habakkuk 2:20: But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him! There is something about being silent before God that reminds us of His 6 Barton, 34. 8 of 16
holiness and His power. And, there is something about the holiness of God that makes us silent - what have we to say in the face of Holiness? Read Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth. When we are still, silent - with others or alone, we can remember God s presence and His power. In this verse, we are reminded to pause, be still, to remember who is powerful, who is in control. Ruth Haley Barton writes that it is in sitting in God s presence that the sediment that is swirling in our souls begins to settle. 7 It is in this time that we can let go of the control that we so desperately cling to, and we have no agenda except being with God. We let go of our need to make every minute productive. When you first begin to practice disciplines of silence and solitude, feelings you don t like may surface. Often we squash unpleasant emotions or thoughts by distracting ourselves, but when we become still and silent and are no longer distracted, we may feel angry, sad, anxious, or upset. It is in this time alone with God, when no one is around, that the Holy Spirit can show us who we are and how we need to change. It is during this time that no one is around to recognize us and there is 7 Barton, 37. 9 of 16
nothing to achieve - we just stand alone before God. 8 It is in the time alone in silence that the Holy Spirit can do deep work in us. As you begin to spend time alone with God in silence, anxieties and to do lists may begin to creep up. You have sudden thoughts of things that you have put off maybe for days that suddenly seem extremely important. Henri Nouwen once wrote, Your inner life is like a banana tree filled with monkeys jumping up and down. 9 As those monkeys jump around, we can take a deep breath and remember, Be still and know that I am God. These thoughts can also be an invitation to prayer - a chance to turn our worries, concerns, anxieties over to God. As each thought arises in your mind, give it over to God. As we learn to practice silence, the noise and chaos in our minds will settle down, and we will be able to open ourselves up wider to God, who has access to places in us that we do not even know exist. 10 As we continue to remain silent, we are able to listen to God or just to be with God, who yearns to be with us as he was with Adam and Eve in the garden. Adele Calhoun writes in her Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, There is nothing you 8 9 10 Calhoun, 129. Nouwen, http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/1995/spring/5l280.html. Calhoun, 123. 10 of 16
need to do here. This is not a time to come up with strategies for fixing your life. Silence is a time to rest in God. Lean into God, trusting that being with him in silence will loosen your rootedness in the world and plant you by streams of living water. It can form your life even if it doesn t solve your life. 11 As we spend time in silence with God, we are reminded that He loves us. This is not a fuzzy, warm feeling we have but one that is based on Scripture. Here are a few examples: Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. Jeremiah 3:3: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. I John 4:16: So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. Not only do we know about God s love, but we believe that He loves us! When Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form 11 Adele Calhoun, 123. 11 of 16
of a dove, and a voice from heaven says, This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17). We are also his beloved - he rejoices over us, renews us, loves us with an everlasting love. When we are alone with God, we know who we are when all the things that make us important or unimportant in the eyes of the world fall away and we are left only with the one who loves us. Who are we without accolades? Who are we when we are not productive? Who are we when no one is there to remind us that we are important or unimportant? We are the beloved - we are loved by God; he delights in us. We don t have to turn to others for them to make us feel loved - we do not have to depend on others opinions of us to give us our selfworth. As we spend time in solitude and silence, we come to know and rely on the love that God has for us (I John 4:16). It would be misleading for us to end a class on silence and solitude on this note. Although times in silence and solitude can be some of the sweetest times with God, there are times this discipline may feel empty - like God is not showing up. It is a common misperception today to believe that if participating in a spiritual discipline does not feel good to us or if we don t have an immediate revelation from God, then 12 of 16
nothing positive must be happening and it s not worth our time. This is not based on Scripture! Think back to our examples of people spending in Scripture who spent time alone with God, do you think they may have had times when they felt that God was absent? The Psalms are an excellent picture of life with God - they reflect the joy found in God as well as the anger that we might have when things don t go the way we want them to and the despair we can feel when God feels far away. Psalm 10:1, Why O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 13:1, How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? We are not the first to feel that God may be absent. However, we do not give up. We do not stop pursuing God, pursuing relationship with God. Just as in our earthly relationships, not every minute that we spend time God may feel productive - do not expect great revelations in each time of silence and solitude. Relationship is about being with someone. And relationship with God starts in times of solitude and silence. 13 of 16
Remember the story of Elijah at Mount Horeb in I Kings 19. I Kings 19:11-12: He said, Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is 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. And, God was in the silence. Take a few moments in class to practice this discipline. Set aside 2-3 minutes for silence. It may feel very long. Tell the class to try to sit in silence with the Lord and as anxieties arise, to repeat the verse, Be still and know that I am God. If there is time, talk about the experience. How did this time of silence feel? Did concerns arise? Did the time seem short/long? Discuss practical ways for implementing silence and solitude in personal lives. For those who are parents of young children, times of silence and solitude may be very difficult to find. This is not a time for them to feel 14 of 16
guilty about this! Could they find a time once or twice a week to spend in solitude with God? It doesn t have to be half a day - maybe 20 minutes? Or daily for just 5 minutes? Some people may find it difficult to sit in silence - what about going on a walk? Remind people that if we wait to get everything that we need to get done, done before we spend time in solitude and silence, then it will never happen. We must set aside time to spend alone with God just as we do for those we love here - even when all our tasks have not been completed. The most important thing is just to get started - even if it is just for a few minutes each day. Conclusion: Through the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude, we can become more rooted in our identity as children of God. As we spend time in His presence, He is able to transform us into being the kind of people who can recognize what is really important. As we learn to spend time in solitude and silence, it will become more natural to give our worries and anxieties over to God. When someone comes to mind, we will be in the practice of lifting the person up to the Lord. People and situations that need to be prayed over will come to our minds more often. We will also be more in tune with the ways God has blessed us, remembering to thank Him for those things. Through the disciplines of silence and solitude, our relationship with God can grow. 15 of 16
Like Jesus, we will know that we are never alone, because the Father is with us (John 16:32). Bibliography: Barton, Ruth Hailey. Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God s Transforming Presence. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010. Calhoun, Adele Ahlberg. Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Revised and Expanded. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015. Nouwen, Henri. From Solitude to Community to Ministry. http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/1995/spring/5l280.html. The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible, NRSV. Edited by Richard Foster et al. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. 16 of 16