Lenten Campaign 2025
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In the Lenten season, many people will take on a discipline rather than “giving something up.” For not a few, this will involve a resolve to spend additional time in prayer each day. Many of us recognize that we do not spend enough of our day quietly placing ourselves in the presence of the Lord. Lent seems like the perfect time to build that spiritual muscle.
However, often when we try to “be still and know that I am God,” it’s not uncommon for us to find that there is nothing harder to do than nothing.
Of course, silent prayer is not nothing, but that is what it can feel like to us. We have so habituated ourselves to saturating our senses that without our podcasts and posts, our streams and our socials, our minds can feel like an empty hall, echoing.
What we need is silence. But then, this is nothing new.
In his book For Self-Examination, the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote:
“If I were a physician and someone asked me, ‘What do you think should be done?’ I would answer, ‘The first thing , the unconditional condition for anything to be done, consequently the very first thing that must be done is: create silence, bring about silence; God’s Word cannot be heard, and if in order to be heard in the hullabaloo it must be shouted deafeningly with noisy instruments, then it is not God’s Word; create silence!’”
We might read this and think Kierkegaard’s words were addressed to our time. Yet he wrote this passage in 1851!
Noise of all time
It’s unlikely that Copenhagen in the middle of the 19th century held the same sorts of distractions that our society today does, but that is precisely the point: the methods of distraction may change, but human nature does not. We may have more gadgets and gizmos in our time, but in any age man is capable of filling his head with noise to keep himself from having to consider the deeper questions in life.
Why do we do this? For the same reason we often prefer junk food to a balanced meal. We may know that a chicken salad will be more fulfilling and make us feel better overall, but the cheeseburger brings a more immediate satisfaction. We’d rather be pleased now than be satisfied later.
This is the key: Silence requires patience. Patience for God to speak to our hearts, in His own time, rather than on our schedule. Patience to hold off on the lesser good so that the greater good can blossom in our hearts.
Jesus so often describes the Kingdom of God in terms of slow action: a seed growing, a leavened loaf rising. Things that take time, that take patience — that take silence. You cannot coax or cajole your dough into rising, nor can you demand God keep to your schedule.
When we clear away the clutter and let silence into our hearts, we make room for God to be heard. This Lent, let’s try to make our lives a little less noisy. Let’s create silence.
