Silence Please
Joshua 6:10
"And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout."
What a strange command God gave to Joshua and the children of Israel when He told them not to make any noise while they walked around the walls of Jericho. It would seem that the more noise they made the more the intimidation factor would play on the minds of the people in Jericho. Yet, I believe that God wanted His people quiet so that He could speak to them while they were walking around the walls. This journey around the walls was not just an exercise of intimidation, but I believe it was supposed to be a spiritual exercise for Israel to let God speak to their hearts.
When you look in the Scriptures, you find that God speaks to the hearts of men when they are quiet. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." Notice, the acknowledgment of God's power does not happen when there is noise, but it happens when you are silent. When you still yourself and everything around, that is when you see the power of God work.
It was in the time of quiet that God spoke to Elijah. 1 Kings 19:12 says, "And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." When Elijah ran from Jezebel because of self-pity, it was then that God sent an earthquake and fire, but He was not in these. It was when everything got quiet that Elijah heard the voice of the LORD. It was in the quiet time that God had the opportunity to speak.
When God spoke to Samuel in his childhood, it was not during the daytime when all the noise was around him, but it was in the quiet of night when God spoke to Samuel. God spoke to Samuel while he was in bed, and the noise of the hustle and bustle of those around him was gone. It was then that he heard the voice of the LORD. Samuel could not hear God's voice in the noise, but he heard His voice when it was quiet.
Our society is accustomed to having noise about us. When you go to the restaurant, at times the music is so loud that you have to ask the waitress to turn it down. When people are in their cars, you often see them playing music loudly. When walking down the street, you see people with earpieces in their ears listening to music. People just don't like it when there is silence. When there is silence most people become uncomfortable.
Christian, you need to learn to have a regular time of silence so that God can speak to your heart. You will find in the quiet time that God will reveal Himself to you in a way you have never seen before. It is when I silence everything around me that God often speaks to my heart. Some of the most spiritual times you will have is when you learn to spend time meditating on God in silence. Let me challenge you to have a regular time when you turn everything off for a few minutes so that God can speak. I have found the best time to do this is after reading the Scriptures. Break the bad habit of always having noise, and learn to let God speak to you in the time of silence.