| Have you ever been in a conversation, or even a time of prayer, and just felt utterly speechless? Overwhelmed by emotion, confusion, or simply the thought that you can’t think of anything substantive to contribute, you just fall silent, wondering what in the world you should be saying.
Perhaps, sometimes, the thing to look for in these moments isn’t the words to say. Maybe, sometimes, what the Holy Spirit prompts us to find in the absence of our own words is the confidence to listen.
Women are so often told to be quiet or defer to the words and ideas of others, so let us be clear: this isn’t about that. This is about that anxiety that can creep up when we feel as though all the eyes are on us and we should have something to say, but we don’t,. This is about that guilt that arises when we say, “Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. I...” and suddenly feel as though we have completely forgotten how to pray. Sometimes, the next step looks like fighting for the words to say. But sometimes, the greatest gift we can give our own souls is that of embracing the voices of others, or even shared silence. In “Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends,” Lynne M. Baab reminds us of the power and grace of hearing others pray. Bonnie Kristian beckons us toward affection and ongoing connection with friends or family members we struggle to hear out. And Scot McKnight writes about the power of trauma-informed listening when working with survivors of abuse.
Throughout our lives and relationships, there will be many moments when our words matter greatly—to our Father who loves to hear them, to our loved ones whose smiles grow brighter as we encourage or share with them, and to ourselves as we express the thoughts that burn inside us. But in the moments when the words simply cannot be found, take heart. Your listening, your silence, can matter greatly, too. |
