Day 41: Jesus Speaks Volumes in Our Silence and Solitude

Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him . . . PSALM 37:7A

WHILE FILMING A WOMEN’S talk show with CeCe Winans recently, I kept getting distracted by how beautiful and startlingly white her teeth are. So during one of the breaks, I complimented her about it and, to CeCe’s humble dismay, one of our other friends on the show announced: “Well, of course she has a beautiful smile, Lisa, she was on a Crest commercial, for goodness’ sake!” Which led to an animated conversation about how super-white teeth make smiles appear happier, which is also the reason I responded to a text ad from my dentist about a sale on professional teeth whitening. (You’ll see why I needed a scapegoat in a second.)

Unfortunately, one of his new, inexperienced, and seemingly harried hygienists didn’t prep my mouth correctly, which caused the incredibly potent bleaching product to leak onto both the inside and outside of my lower lip. Therefore, instead of coming out of the procedure with a sparkling smile like CeCe’s, I came out with a mouth full of blisters and a lip so pronounced that a strong breeze could’ve pulled me off my feet. Honestly, my bottom lip was so swollen that I. Could. Not. Talk. for several hours and Missy had to return a few important calls on my behalf! Which some might call a blessing because I am a grade A-certified gabber, y’all.

Since I’m an extroverted windbag by nature, sometimes Jesus’s voice in my mind and heart is drowned out by all the words tumbling out of my mouth. Which is why I started practicing the three spiritual disciplines listed below that have really helped me hear Him more often and more clearly. If you’re a naturally quiet and contemplative person who doesn’t ever have a difficult time discerning the Good Shepherd’s voice, please feel free to skip the rest of this devotion and watch a funny animal video on YouTube instead. But for the rest of us, let’s move full steam ahead!

1. Silence and Solitude

One of my heroines of the faith, Madame Jeanne Guyon, said this about the two kinds of people who keep silent: “The first is one who has nothing to say, and the other is one who has too much to say. In the case of the deeper encounter with the Lord, the latter is true. Silence is produced from abundant life in God, not from lack.”34 This compelled me to at least try to carve out some quiet each day, even after my lip shrank back to its normal size.

I begin by getting up early, making a cup of coffee, and sitting in a rocking chair on our front porch. Since we live in a rural area, on a hilly five-acre “farmette” without any close neighbors, solitude isn’t too hard to come by. Then I spend a chunk of time (sometimes I only have ten minutes, sometimes I have the luxury of an hour) without any noise or activity, and imagine Jesus sitting in the rocking chair next to me. And it’s in those quiet moments on the porch with Him that I find the following observation from the book Cultivating a Listening Heart to be comfortingly true: “In solitude we have for companionship the One who loves us and who is eager to empower us to do good. As we become used to it, it’s not unusual to sit in silence with God as we might with an old friend.”35

2. Prayer of Examen

I started practicing the prayer of examen (examen is simply the Latin root for “examine,” and is typically still used in the context of spiritual disciplines because most of them were established by priests and monks centuries ago when religious writings were in Latin) about twenty years ago, and I normally do it in the evening. I begin by quoting Psalm 139:23–24 (niv): “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” After which, I follow the following steps for the General Examen of Conscience:36

• Give Jesus thanks for how He’s blessed me throughout the day
• Ask Him to reveal my sins
• Examine the posture of my heart during the day, reflecting briefly on my thoughts, words, and actions
• Ask Him to forgive my sins, in light of His unconditional love and mercy
• Ask Him for the grace to change in such a way that I lean more fully into His embrace and live a more Jesus-shaped life

Sometimes Missy joins me in the prayer of examen exercise and, when she does, I simplify the steps down to these three:

• Share the “rose” (the best part) and the “thorn” (the hardest part) of our day
• Thank Jesus for the rose(s)
• Ask Jesus for help with the thorn(s)

3. Walking Prayer

I’ve found this spiritual discipline to be an awesome way to listen to Jesus and work off calories consumed from chips and queso at the same time! At the beginning of walks or hikes that I typically take a few times a week, I practice deep breathing—consciously inhaling God’s life and peace through my nose and exhaling anxiety through my mouth several times. (Remember the original Greek word for Holy “Spirit” in the New Testament is pneuma, which means breath, so deep breathing doesn’t have to be some weird, anti-God thing—it’s actually biblically defensible! God used His own breath to fill Adam with the “breath of life” in Genesis 2:7, and in my breathing practices, I remember He is still the One who breathes life into me too!) Then I start walking and repeat whatever verses I’ve been meditating on (sometimes out loud, sometimes just in my head) for several strides, after which I ask Jesus what He wants to tell me through them, and listen for several minutes while trying to keep my breathing and strides rhythmic. Then I proclaim what I think He’s teaching me, convicting me of, encouraging me with, or revealing to me through those passages while keeping a harmonious cadence. And I repeat those steps for the entirety of the walk/hike.

His presence has become so palpable on those prayer walks/hikes that I’ve been embarrassed more than once when rounding a corner on a trail only to find other hikers staring in consternation because they heard me in animated conversation and assumed I was talking to a companion. So when I come into view without one, they think I’ve been chattering away to myself and am a few sandwiches short of a picnic!

• WHAT IS YOUR rose and your thorn today?
• READ PSALM 62:5–6. Take three deep breaths, focusing on breathing in God’s peace and exhaling worry or stress. What do you think Jesus is saying to you through these verses?
• READ JAMES 5:7–8. Take three deep breaths, focusing on breathing in God’s peace and exhaling worry or stress. What do you think Jesus is saying to you through these verses?