What happens when we trust God with our mouths firmly closed
By Dean Collins
There is wisdom in learning when to speak up and when to keep your mouth closed. Maybe the secret is found in learning that this marvelous wisdom comes first and only when we allow ourselves to be silent before God.
What about prayer?
God certainly wants to hear from us. Over and over in scripture we are invited, even urged, to pray and to let God hear our requests. The result of obeying by praying without ceasing is that I suspect our prayers are heavily tilted to our time talking versus our time spent silently listening. But what if it is in silence that we allow God to fill the empty spaces? What if in those spaces he supplies us with his wisdom and his pathway for our next steps? Could it be that silence is when we actually catch a glimpse of God’s glory?
Too much talk?
Knowing what to say and when to say it is important. But knowing when to keep our mouths shut is equally important. The proverbs, the psalms, the example of Moses, and the life of Peter may give us a better understanding of when to engage the ears over the mouth.
Solomon’s advice was this: “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” And in this quiet moment of reading and reflection, we probably give the wise king a thumbs up. But later today at work, in a family discussion, with a friend, or possibly dealing with an adversary, this wisdom is hard to follow!
Sometimes it is truly difficult to know when to talk and when to keep silent. What if the only way we learn this wisdom is when we reverse the order of our actions? Instead of talking first, even talking to God, we should begin in silence.
Psalms gives us a clue on the importance of silence:
“Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent” (4:4).
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” (37:7).
“Be still, and know that I am God!” (46:10).
Like you I love these thoughtful verses. But reflecting on them during morning devotions is different than using them in the middle of a conflict! Surely God wants us to speak up and use our words when we face opposition.
When the children of Israel were being pursued by the Egyptians after their escape from bondage Pharaoh’s army was gaining ground. Moses spoke up to God and God through Moses spoke to the Israelites: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”.
At Caesarea Philippi, Peter spoke up with the right answer. Jesus asked his disciples how others understood his identity. The answers included that Jesus was a prophet, a resurrected John the Baptist, or maybe Elijah. But Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ of God.” Jesus gave Peter an A+ for his answer.
When Jesus went on to explain how things would roll out in the days ahead, including how much opposition they would face and that ultimately he would lay his life down and die on a cross, Peter couldn’t keep silent. He spoke up to challenge Jesus, and this time Jesus rebuked him: “Get away from me Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view and not from God’s.”
Better than human?
This is our challenge. As humans we will naturally tilt to seeing things from a human viewpoint. And human viewpoints express anger, demand justice on our terms, want to win arguments and battles, and default to how we have been taught by other humans. Yet as followers of Jesus, we are called to train our minds to have the mind of Christ and to respond with his love, grace, and wisdom. The hard truth is we can learn the way of Jesus only when we take time to be silent. In silence God gives wisdom and God does his work. But we must learn to trust him with our mouths closed.
Lord, we come repenting of the many times we have opened our mouths at the wrong times and with the wrong words. Time and time again we have attempted to correct others, argue our point, and even take your place when what you desired was for us to be quiet and let you work. Today we invite you to work in our hearts and fight every one of our battles. We come to you in silence trusting that you are God and that you will give us the strength of self-control, even of our tongues, so that we can watch you work on our behalf. We are listening. And when you want us to speak, then prompt us by your Holy Spirit with words that come from you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your time with God’s Word
Proverbs 10:19 NLT; Exodus 14:14 ESV; Mark 8:29, 32-33 NLT
Photo by Nsey Benajah on Unsplash
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
