Listening to God Requires Silence

 

     God speaks to us in many ways – in prayer, through scripture, through prophets, in the words of friends, with the sights of nature, and in quiet silence. But are we listening and how do we discern God’s voice from the other voices of the world?

     Very young children may have trouble understanding that God can speak in these many ways. As concrete thinkers, they are listening for an actual voice. In this day, we are not as fortunate as Samuel was to hear a physical voice of God. What we can do is to teach our children to silence themselves so they can listen and to discern what they are hearing.

·         Share the 4 Voices with your children and practice discerning between them. We all have 4 voices: speaking, whispering, shouting, and singing.

·         Take a listening walk: name what you hear but take it a step further by talking about the sounds. “I heard a bird. But was the bird singing happily or squawking like a cat was stalking it?” “I hear a voice but is the person in trouble or happy.”

·         Listen in worship: Ask your child to listen to the anthem, the scripture, or the sermon. Then talk about it after. What did the words say? What did they mean? How did they make you feel? What was God saying in those words? What will you do because of what you heard?

·         Visit the Labyrinth on the grounds of St. Cyril’s: Practice walking it in silence. After the walk, talk about how you felt God’s presence.

·         Read Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss. How could Horton hear such a tiny voice?

·         Ask yourselves, as parents, do we help create silent-quiet times in children’s lives to help them listen and discern what they are hearing? Or is the TV constantly on? Or are people overtalking one another? Or are we constantly on the go? Or are we ignoring some voices?

 

Dear God,

   I quiet myself with your help.

   I sit in silence with your help.

   Speak to me and I will listen.

   (sit in silence)

Amen.