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Our God is the Friend of Silence
Psalm 62

I have been thinking quite a bit recently about the practice of silence and the silence of God. This song, written by Paul Zach and performed by Paul Zach and Liz Vice proclaims something which, at first glance, seems counterintuitive. How is God the friend of silence?

Our God is the friend of silence
Our God is the friend of silence

All our words are useless
Unless they come from Him
We will cease from striving
And hear His voice within
All our words are useless
Unless they come from Him
We will cease from striving
And hear His voice within

In Advent, especially Advent in 2020, we come face to face with a world that appears far from good and whole. Before we come to the miracle that is Christ’s coming, we are confronted with the reality of a world that needs setting right. Evil is in our face. Maybe our impulse is to cry out with the Psalmist, “Why, LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1). And this is a fitting response. “O God, where are you now?” is, in fact, the question that dominates the Advent season.

But in the midst of the physical violence that dominates our world and the verbal violence that permeates our news feeds, there is another response. Peace, in fact, begins with the interior silence of the Psalmist, “For God alone my soul waits in silence” (Psalm 62:1).

This song suggests that silence is the bedrock of genuine prayer, “All our words are useless, unless they come from him.” How are we to hear the voice of God if we are always speaking? We suspect God of being silent, perhaps it is us who are too loud?

Elijah found God not in the strong winds, nor earthquakes, nor fire, but in the silence (1 Kings 19:11-12). Indeed, we can do the same.