Vow Of Silence (VOZ)

I recall reading this rhyme for the first time many years ago above the desk of the secretary at the school at which I first taught:

A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

The rhyme has stuck with me through the years and the message has had much impact. The message is plain - Silence is golden. Instead of being quick to speak we should be quick to listen, observe, learn and apply new knowledge to improving our lives.

I take pleasure in solitude. Those who are close to me know that all too well. Ideally, I prefer to lock myself away from the world and remain in with me, myself and my thoughts. However, being in solitude is not the same as being attentively silent. The owl not only sat silently but listened perceptively. That's the part I've yet to master.

Habakkuk in chapter 2 verse 20 advizes the entire earth to keep silence before the presence of the Lord. And it's only recently that this thought has been hitting home. I've been silently praying to God for a breakthrough. I haven't shared my most earnest desires with not even those who are closest to me. There is this one thing that God and I need to work out. It's been months - literally.

But what does silence have to do with God acceding to my request? You see I realized today that I've been doing all the speaking. I've been communicating to God what I desire, even chastising Him for not coming through with what I believe He has promised to fulfill. Within the time I prescribed. As I reflect I realize that I've been shouting at God for an answer. I try to teach my students this all important lesson that I've failed to carry-out in my conversations with God. If my students speak I remain quiet.

I haven't yet allowed God the space to speak to me. His voice is still and silent. It's a voice that only those who are attuned will perceive. Finally that little voice whispered to me today and I heard. It asked me to shut up, to be silent and to listen to God speaking.

Hence my vow of silence. Over the next few days or weeks or months I've vowed to be economical with the words that proceed from my lips, with the conversations I entertain, with the social situations I involve myself in. It's impossible for me not to speak at all. I'm a teacher so I'm paid to speak. Outside of what I'm required to do, in those sessions not assigned to essential communication tasks, I vow to be silent. Silent not only with the words that proceed out of my lips but the thoughts I entertain in my mind. I'll sit, like that wise old owl, and lock myself on top of the oak-tree of my mind and listen as God's still small voice speaks. And as he speaks I hope to grasp lessons that will direct my footsteps in the path He leads.

"Speak Lord - for thy servant heareth" (1 Samuel 3:10)

Vow of Silence (VOZ) © 2014 S.L.Lawrence