The great state of Tex-afornia

Silence
This morning I tried to be silent before God. It was an experiment in the ancient practices of early church leaders. My goal was to go for an hour with no music or talking. No agenda. No special prayers to pray. No decisions to gain wisdom about. Just my God and me. This isn't the first time I've tried this practice and I have enjoyed it immensely. So, what happened? I lasted closer to 20 minutes than 60. Much dissappointing. But I did feel that the silence was beneficial to my soul. I realize that you don't really know what's going on in the deep recesses of your soul until you are silent. I realized that there is joy in letting God wash over you. I can kinda see what the Buddhist gets from meditation. They seek to empty themselves. There is a piece to that. While I disagree on the their reasons for meditating. My silence is to gain closeness with God and to be filled by His thoughts, not simply the complete silence of dissapation. Even though I wasn't singing out loud a song kept popping into my head. The words "for your glory and your fame" rang true with my soul bringing me back to the focus of life. I felt a sense of freedom in knowing that I don't have to live up to my standard for my life. If I am not "successful" who cares? What I want is for people to know God more. A good thought to begin the day with.

I would someday like to take a full day silent retreat. Has anyone else a set aside a time of silence strictly for the purpose of listening to God? If so, what did you learn?

posted by Kevin @ 1:25 PM