Waiting in Silence

Waiting in Silence
by Charles R. Swindoll
James 1:2-4
"My soul waits in silence for God only" (Psalm 62:1). Some of the best times in prayer are wordless times. I stop speaking, close my eyes, and meditate upon what I have been reading or upon what I have been saying, and I listen inside of myself. I listen deeply. I listen for reproofs. I think of myself as a home with many doors. As I am meditating-- -and often it helps to close my eyes so I won't be distracted-- -I unlock doors and open them as I wait. It is here that the Holy Spirit invades. Then, I take circumstances before Him and I listen with doors open.
Please be assured that I have never heard an audible voice. It isn't that kind of answering. It's a listening down inside. It's sensing what God is saying about the situation. His promise is, after all, that He will inscribe His law---His will---upon our hearts and our minds.
It's like what you do when you're in love with a person. Isn't it true---the deeper the love, the less that has to be said? You can actually sit alone together by a fireplace for an hour or two and say very, very little, but it can be the deepest encounter and relationship you know anything about.
Those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength, according to Isaiah, but remember: the key is waiting.
There's a sense of stability in trusting the Lord. That's how we wait silently and with a sense of confidence. When we wait for God to direct our steps, He does! When we trust Him to meet our needs, He will!
God tempers us and seasons us, making us mellow and mature when we wait on Him.

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). -------