This was originally a presentation for the opening remarks I did during the 6th NFF (Neurofibromatosis Friends) Philippines Christmas Party last December 2017. The presentation was entitled “In the Silence: Hearing God in the Midst of Life’s Noise”. I hoped to encourage my fellow NF family members that God is present and often speaks to us but we need to listen and sometimes be silent if we are to hear Him.
One song I particularly love and look to for hope and inspiration is David Haas’ “You are Mine”.
The first and last lines of the song’s first verse gives us an idea of how God communicates.
I will come to you in the silence….be still and know I am near.
If we look at some Bible verses, we realize how true this is. The prophet Elijah just arrived at the top of Mount Horeb, when God commanded him to come out of the cave so that He could speak to Elijah.
Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. 13 When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
1 Kings 19:11-13a | NABRE
God, powerful as He is, was not in the strong wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire (lightning). Where was God? He was in the “light silent sound”. If Elijah had been waiting for something spectacular, he would have missed God’s call. God was not in all that chaos going on outside the cave.
In our life, we have our own strong winds, earthquakes, and fires. They come in the form of physical pain or sickness; broken or problematic relationships with friends, family, loved ones; financial problems; and many others. These are the noise in our life. The chaos we have to live with.
Unfortunately, the same noise may be distracting us from what God is trying to tell us. Let us look at the story of Zechariah and the Angel Gabriel from the Gospel of Luke.
11 the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, 16 and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” 18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. 20 But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Luke 1:11-20 | NABRE
We see clearly, that the angel told Zechariah that his prayer (presumably asking for a son has been heard. However, he was distracted by his and Elizabeth’s stage in life. Instead of hearing the angel’s message, he became focused on other things. Hence, he was punished with silence. That way he can reflect further and listen to and understand God’s voice and will.
Similarly, at times we also need to be silent. God may have well answered our prayers in some way, but we have become to engrossed in the problem that we don’t realize that there is a solution or at least a way to a solution.
May this prayer help us to be more open to God’s voice and also help us to ask God’s forgiveness for the times when we failed to listen.
Almighty and ever-living God, You deem us worthy to stand in Your presence like Elijah and Zechariah. Grant us the grace to find You in the silence amid the many noise and distractions we have in our life so that we may be able to hear You and listen to You. Sometimes we get so distracted with the chaos around us that even if You had already answered our prayers, we fail to notice. For those times we failed to hear You or listen to You, we beg for Your mercy and forgiveness. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Candelaria, we ask You this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.