We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta
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  • http://www.michaelgholmes.com/ Mike Holmes

    So true Mike! I can even recall yesterday when I was praying about an isssue…frantically. It wasn’t until I got my mind off it, on silence, that the answer just “popped” out of nowhere. It does seem that He He answers me in His silence not in my fanaticism lol.

    Thanks for the reminder!

  • http://sandraheskaking.com/ Sandra Heska King

    I’m so into this these days–seeking silence to grow deep and touch souls. It’s behind my Still Saturday posts. Thanks for this. Hope you find time seek some stillness this weekend.

  • Reyvq

    Nice one, Mike!>..

  • Jviola79

    Thank you for sharing this. Made me realize why I desire silence so many times. You have no idea what it meant to me to read this just now. Thank you for sharing this quote – plain & simple – no commentary, no post. It spoke volumes! 

  • http://blog.cyberquill.com/ Cyberquill

    Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence. 

    • http://michaelhyatt.com/ Michael Hyatt

      Yes, excellent quote. Thanks.

  • Dorothy

    Hanging on my living room wall is a picture of a winter scene and it says “Let us be silent so that we may hear the whisper of God”.  I love it.

  • Lainehmann

    I love this. Especially when people are hurting, sometimes just sitting in silence is so much more helpful. Our presence is often our biggest “present.” 

    • Brent Dumler

      That last line also can be said of God. Sometimes His presence can be better for us than His voice.

  • John

    I tried the silence exercise–it lasted maybe 2-3 minutes. Hard to do.

  • Ben_nystrom

    IT is interesting to see that this is coming up everywhere I look. This post is amazing
    http://aseedinspired.com/2012/07/20/songs-of-water-or-what-happens-in-the-silence/
    (Songs of Water is Ricky Skaggs kids band….)

    • T @aseedinspired

      Yes thank you for linking my post here… that is very humbling… I think we often overlook hearing from Him…which often requires our silence.
      I think we as people fear silence…we fear actually hearing from Him because on a very primal level we feel we will hear something “bad” from Him…. but that is just the lie we believe….as we have seen in the post above…. it was actually one of the most amazing moments.
      I had the luxury of having the band to my house afterwards…. and Steven Roach was told in that moment (And he had no prior knowledge of my questions to God) to “wait in the Silence for a response”… crazy right?
      Well either way I came here to see why and how people were coming to my site from here… and thank you again.
      humbly,
      T

  • Brent Dumler

    Love this quote. I’m currently writing a class on the Spiritual Disciplines. Dallas Willard refers to Solitude as one. In the past 6 months and on a personal level, I’ve experienced this to be of enormous value to the believer. Thanks for posting this.

  • http://scribingthejourney.com/ Duane Scott

    Still contemplating your “call to silence” post, Michael. 

    I’m trying something new these days: yoga. 

    And silence. 

    Mostly silence. 

    Thanks to you. 

  • http://twitter.com/liveabundantly8 Living in Christ

    Mother Teresa inspires me more than any other person. Her life was a living testimony of a life totally surrendered to Christ.  I remember when I first started the discipline of sitting in silence–it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My mind kept drifting off to the tasks that I needed to do. Years later, it can still be hard for me. But I continue to practice silence because it is the only way I will clearly hear the voice of God.

    Thank you for spurring us on through your writing!

  • http://somewiseguy.com/ ThatGuyKC

    This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/4AK2K5URXW32QRIYYXHWQWBFYA david

    Silence is melodious_ IRISH PROVERB

  • http://www.chaplainmike.com/ Mike Hansen

    I have also found it becomes a stretch for many of us to be comfortable with silence-especially with other people in the same room. 

    • http://TillerFamily.org/ John Tiller

      True, Mike!   Though, what great things can be accomplished when we get over the discomfort of silence and listen!  

  • http://www.turningthepage.info/ Barry Pearman

    Yes, silence is a twin sister to stillness. They walk hand in hand to a place called creative listening. 

  • Shyamramesh12

    thank you…..

  • http://twitter.com/ShawnSpjut Shawn Spjut

    There is alot to be said for learning stillness. Eccl 5:1; Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
    They desert fathers and mystics cultivated a lifestyle of rest and stillness as a vehicle to experiencing the presence of God. I wonder if our current busyness of discipling nations hasn’t replaced our relationship with Him?