We bombard our brains with noise. As a young person I am now able to go through an entire day and never leave time for silence. But at what cost? It is in the quiet place that God speaks, where the conscience can be heard and secret things revealed. Silence allows us to think through difficult issues, sort out conflicting emotions and get right with God. Gaming, or media in general for that matter, can cause a fear of silence. In the noise, difficult issues become muddled and God can be hard to hear. We often hate to be left alone with our thoughts, emotions and God.

A good way to test your ability to handle silence is to experience it. Go off alone to a quiet place and don’t speak or make noise for an hour. How are you able to handle it? Silence stands in stark contrast to gaming which can captivate even the most ADD mind.

Several years ago some friends and I stopped speaking so that we could learn to listen. We meditated on the Scriptures, listened for God’s voice and to those around us. After that day of total awkward silence all three of us were bursting with new insights, new revelations and a new energy to take on life’s challenge.

Scripture passages which before had been shrouded to our distracted minds came alive. We each had the feeling that we had just spent valuable time with the Living God. We realized that to hear God’s still small voice we must be still enough to listen.

Jesus went out to the wilderness away from everyone. I am sure He spent vast amounts of that time silently meditating on the scriptures and listening for God’s voice. When we bombard our minds with images and noise we miss out on the serenity that flows from that quiet place.

The most tragic thing about silence is that we don’t notice when it is gone.

What do you think?