Feather: Creator God, we the children of your creation give you praise and thanksgiving for ever listening and hearing our prayers. We thank you for all the gifts of the seasons in how they open our eyes and hearts to your presence. We thank you for the season of Lenten silence, wherein we seek to open ourselves to you. For in the silence, when the world around us is quiet and all distraction is humbled, you speak. Speak now to our humbled hearts, reveal your Word of truth, guide us to your will and way, that listening we may hear your purpose and promise and be children of hope in this world and for your glory. This we pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Sage: The Lenten season has an important aspect of listening, of prayerful opening of our ears to seek what the Almighty is saying to us. Listening is an important skill that few these days seem to master. The world is filled with noise and opinion, people speaking over each other, everyone an expert in their own right, with a need to prove others wrong. To truly listen, we need first to close our mouths and open our hearts and minds, tuning our ears to the other before us. In so doing, we just might hear a truth other than our own.
In scripture, the wilderness is a place of silence, a hollow or valley wherein the sound of the world is hushed, where one might find a place of refuge and comfort, a place where truth and peace abound, emanating from our Creator God. When scripture speaks of a holy place, it is usually quiet, and reverence sits heavy in the air like incense. Silence and prayerful listening are important in scripture, whether it’s God calling or speaking through the prophets or Jesus saying “pay attention to how you listen” (Luke 8:18) as he teaches with parables. Listening is a skill mastered through humility, the ability to be silent when the world or opinions fill the landscape.
Listening and silence are not easy but are skills that we as Christians should practice more, especially as platforms such as social media can make our voice resound far beyond our immediate circles. Today, may we prayerfully rein in our tongues and off er words that have been filtered through the silent place full of our Creator’s peace. A blessed Lenten season to all—may the prayerful silence be a healing hug as you listen for the quiet guiding voice of the Almighty.
