July 21 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 29–30; Acts 23:1–15

Room for Silence

After the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:12

READ 1 Kings 19:9–14

If you like peace and quiet, there’s a room that you’ll love. It absorbs 99.99 percent of all sound! The world-famous anechoic (echo-free) chamber of the Orfield Laboratories has been called the “quietest place on earth”. People who want to experience this soundless space are required to sit down to avoid getting disoriented by the lack of noise, and no one has ever been able to spend more than forty-five minutes in the room.

Few of us need that much silence. Yet we do sometimes long for a little quiet in a loud and busy world. Even the news we watch and the social media we ingest bring a kind of clamorous ‘noise’ that competes for our attention. So much of it is infused with words and images that stir up negative emotions. Immersing ourselves in it can easily drown out the voice of God.

When the prophet Elijah went to meet God on the mountain of Horeb, he didn’t find Him in the loud, destructive wind or in the earthquake or in the fire (1 Kings 19:11–12). It wasn’t until Elijah heard a “gentle whisper” that he covered his face and ventured out of the cave to meet with “the Lord God Almighty” (vv. 12–14).

Your spirit may well be craving quiet but—even more so—it may be yearning to hear the voice of God. Find room for silence in your life so you’ll never miss God’s “gentle whisper” (v. 12).

By Cindy Hess Kasper

What are some ways God communes with His children? Why is it vital to regularly communicate with Him?

Loving Father, quiet my heart and mind so I’m ready to meet with You today.

Listen to nightly Our Daily Bread Evening Meditations at odb.org/ukpodcasts

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Elijah, whose name means “my God is Yahweh,” ministered to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the twenty-two-year reign of Ahab (874–853 BC). Ahab, together with his Sidonese wife Jezebel, led the Israelites to worship Baal and murdered God’s prophets (1 Kings 16:29–34; 18:4). Elijah’s prophetic ministry is exemplified when he confronted 450 of Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel, demonstrating that Yahweh is the one true God and calling Israel back to Him (18:16–21). Elijah didn’t die but was taken into heaven in a whirlwind ( 2 Kings 2:1, 11). At the transfiguration of Jesus, he appeared with Moses (Matthew 17:3).