Eloquent Silence

1 Kings 19. 9 - 16

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.

This passage from 1 Kings is one of my favorite descriptions of the presence of God...not in the storms, the chaos or the furor of life, but in the silence, sheer silence, what someone once called eloquent silence. To begin our Centering Prayer practice we pray that like Elijah on Mount Horeb, the eloquent silence of God will settle our breath and allow space for God to pitch God's tent within us and move us into an awareness of the embodied breath garden within.

Where do you need to be silent, what in your life needs to be silenced, what in your mind needs to be silenced? If you are interested in learning more about the practice of Centering prayer, please reach out and join a group. It is a receptive method of silent prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. I have a group that meets once a week to practice, but there are many many other places you could participate.

Tapping into that oxymoronish presence of eloquent silence restores and reveals God in a forceful but silent expression that is life changing. Hear God say, "Be still and know that I am Love."