Silent Listening

I love words so spending multiple days at a silent retreat
draws me out of my comfort zone.
What are some of the benefits of entering into a grand silence to hear the whispers of God?

Silent is a wonderful, yet challenging word. Mother Teresa said, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

Use the word silent as an anagram. An anagram rearranges or unscrambles the letters of one word to create a new word. The result is: SILENT = LISTEN.

Like an anagram, silent listening rearranges, unscrambles, reorganizes and reorders my spirit:

Silent listening rearranges my thoughts, providing clarity and a new sense of direction and meaning.
Silent listening unscrambles my prayers affirming who I am and Whose I am. I am His beloved child forever.
Silent listening reorganizes my priorities to live daily in God’s will, not mine. If I stay only in my will, that fruit will spoil. Only within God’s will, will God’s fruit be produced. Ahh, the folly of my own self-effort.
Silent listening reorders my focus creating new energy to glorify God, not myself.

I am filled with self doubt, second guessing, and restlessness in the first hours of a silent retreat. When I finally let go and just rest in God, the time spent in his closeness refreshes my soul and provides signposts to help me on my life’s journey. He showers me with surprises, insights and wisdom to light my path.

God did give me a surprise on the retreat, actually several surprises (watch for the next blog post – He gave me a new name!) He gave me a new prayer, one I have been praying frequently. If fact I find myself awakening at night with these words on my lips as something or Someone deep within my soul prays the words for me:
“Lord I ask for an undivided heart, fully dependent and devoted only to you.”

I encourage you to take the risk and dive deep into an experience of silent listening.

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. ~William Penn

The Practice of Going on Retreat

I leave this afternoon for a four day silent retreat. This is the third time in four years I have gone on this type of journey. I will be meeting with a director 3-4 times but most of the time will be in silence.

Not all retreats are structured like this one. Why do I go?

I find as the days progress on this type of retreat all the internal noise – voices from the world, my ego and from others – finally fade and I can hear God clearly and deeply. I allow myself to rest in His arms and just be with Him.

So often in my everyday life, I get so distracted and rushed – this becomes a very special time.
I am lifting up prayers for discernment for my next step within the ELCA Associate in Ministry program, where do I best put my time and efforts in writing and for clarity for the lessons God has been putting on my heart lately about my willfulness and pride.

I am a firm believer in keeping a journal and usually fill up many pages on this type of retreat. Rereading or harvesting those words in the coming weeks often give me further insight to where God is touching my heart.

Our world provides too little time and space for reflection, prayer and contemplation. The silence of retreat is a gift we give ourselves and others who are with us. The rising demands of contemporary life, and the nature and values of our secular society, have the combined effect of eroding our spiritual lives. It becomes important then, to be aware of this effect and to respond by actively nurturing the spiritual life.

"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest for a while,” Mark 6:31

The Biology of Belief

Time magazine featured an article “The Biology of Belief” in their February 12, 2009 issue.  Some of the research findings are fascinating and support the growing body of scientific evidence that faith has a positive influence on health.

• Pray and meditate enough and your brain changes permanently. People who pray and meditate over a long period of time have thicker frontal lobes than those who don’t.
  
• More than 6000 studies have been published since 2000 on the effects of intercessory prayer to heal the sick.
• A University of Pittsburgh surgeon found that church attendance accounts for 2-3 additional years of life.
• Seventy-nine of the nation's 125 medical schools now offer courses on prayer and spirituality

 Now don’t read this blog and think Time magazine was pro-religion in this article. For every study showing that faith makes a difference they found a quote to neutralize it. Still the longer I am in health care and on my faith journey, the more I see with my own eyes that belief in God makes a difference in all areas of health.

 

God gives us many tools to enhance health on our path on this earth.  Tools like physicians, medications, and brains to discover ways to prevent, to diagnose early and to possibly cure illnesses. Add to this the skilled hands of the surgeon and calming hands of the nurse to make difficult times at least a little smoother.

 

But He also gives us faith. Faith is taking the next step not knowing the answer but believing the promises of God.

 

Along with our belief in a superior being who created us and knows our bodies and our souls, he gave us faith communities. These groups give us support, education and encouragement - all impacting the health of our body and our spirit.

Perhaps Martin Luther had it correctly: Pray, and let God worry.

Does faith make a difference in our biology?  What do you think?