The virtues of silence

"Let all flesh be silent before the LORD, for he has awakened from his holy habitation." Zechariah 2. 13

Our time is one of excessive communication and excessive decibels : a deluge of words and sounds that has the effect of overwhelming thought.

To silence is first to isolate oneself from these external noises; it is then knowing how to be silent : to close one's mouth, but also to silence our reasonings, our questions and our impatiences.

Rediscover the virtues of silence :

- The silence of respect in the face of God : "Be silent before the Lord Jehovah" (Soph 1. 7).

- Silence to stand before God : "Keep quiet, and know that I am God" (Ps 46, 10). This moment of silence does not amount to emptying oneself, but to counting on God, to rest on him peacefully.

- Silence to listen to the Word of God : "Be silent and listen, Israel: Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. And you shall hear the voice of the LORD your God, and you shall practice his commandments and his statutes ..." (Deut 27, 9, 10).

- Silence to wait for the answer to our prayers by letting it alone act : "It is a good thing that we wait, and in silence, the salvation of the Lord" (Lam.3.26).

- The silence of humility and good conscience in the face of unjust accusations : "The high priest, rising, said to him, Do you answer nothing ? What do these testify against you ? But Jesus kept silent"(Matt 26, 62, 63).

- The silence of those who know how to listen rather than give lessons : "Your sententious speeches are proverbs of ashes ... Keep silence, leave me, and I will speak ..." (Job 13. 12, 13).

Finally the silence conducive to praise : "O God ! Praise is waiting for you in silence in Zion ..." (Ps. 65. 1).

"There is a time to be silent, and a time to speak ..." (Ecc 3: 7). Often the first prepares the second : hence, "a word said in its time, how good it is !" (Prov 15. 23).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)