An introduction to silence and solitude. Join us as we re-discover biblical practices to deepen our walk with God.

1. Solitude
&
Silence

2. Solitude and silence are not self-indulgent
exercises for times when an overcrowded
soul needs a little time to itself. Rather, they
are concrete ways of opening to the
presence of God beyond human effort and
beyond the human constructs structs that
cannot fully contain the Divine.
Ruth Haley Barton

3. Invitation

4. Matthew 11:28
28“Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you
rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light.”

5. The idea is that of a wholistic
approach to following Jesus.
What enabled Jesus to do WHAT he
did…. the wilderness

6. Sacred Pace
We often imitate what Jesus did but
do we imitate his pace?

7. Luke 4:1
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit into
the wilderness…

8. Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely
places and prayed.

9. Mark 3:7
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the
lake…

10. Luke 6:12
Jesus went to the mountainside to
pray…

11. Matthew 14:13
When Jesus had heard that John the
Baptist had been beheaded, he
withdrew by boat privately to a solitary
place.

12. Mark 6:31
Because so many people were coming
and going that they did not even have a
chance to eat, Jesus said to his
disciples, Come with me by yourselves
to a quiet place and get some rest. So
they went away by themselves in a boat
to a solitary place

13. Matthew 14:23
After Jesus had dismissed the crowds,
he went up on a mountain side by
himself to pray. When evening came,
he was still there alone.

14. Mark 2:3
Once Jesus was praying in private and
his disciples were with him, he asked
them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

15. Matthew 15:29
Jesus went on from there and walked
beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went
up on the mountain and sat down there.

16. Mark 9:2
Jesus took Peter, James and John with
him and led them up a high mountain,
where they were all alone.

17. John 7:10
After his brothers had gone up to the
feast, then Jesus also went up, not
publicly but in private. (Jesus walked 90
miles from Galilee to Jerusalem which
was about 5 days of solitude.

18. John 10:39
Again the Pharisees sought to arrest
Jesus, but he escaped from their hands.
He went away again (walking about 5
miles) across the Jordan to the place
where John had been baptizing at first,
and there he remained.

19. Luke 22:39 /
Mark 14:26
When Jesus and his disciples had sung
a hymn, they went to the mount of
Olives. This was Jesus’ usual place to
pray when he was in Jerusalem.

20. Mark 14:32
They went to a place called
Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his
disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

21. Without solitude it is virtually impossible
to live a spiritual life. ... We do not take
the spiritual life seriously if we do not set
aside some time to be with God and
listen to him.
Henry Nouwen

22. Sacred Pace

23. WHERE DO YOU EVER SEE
JESUS IN A HURRY?

24. HOW MANY TIMES DOES IT SAY
THAT JESUS RAN?

25. HARASSED
AND INSECURE
PEACEFUL AND CONFIDENT
VS.

26. Spiritual
Transformation

27. Romans 12
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view
of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true
and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.

28. Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view
of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true
and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.

29. Pslam 78

31. utty
When we sit quietly in God's
presence, the sediment that is
swirling in our souls begins to settle.
We don't have to do anything but
show up and trust the spiritual law of
gravity that says, Be still, and the
knowing will come.

32. “It is in deep solitude that I find the
gentleness with which I can truly love my
brothers. The more solitary I am the more
affection I have for them… solitude and
silence teach me to love my brothers for
what they are, not for what they say.”
THOMAS MERTON

33. Inner silence depends on a continual
seeking, a continual crying in the night, a
repeated bending over the abyss.... For
He is found when He is sought, and when
He is no longer sought, He escapes us.
THOMAS MERTON

34. Solitude eventually offers a quiet gift of grace, a gift
that comes whenever we are able to face ourselves
honestly: the gift of acceptance, of compassion, for
who we are as we are. As we allow ourselves to be
known in solitude, we discover that we are known by
love. Beyond the pain of self-discovery there is a love
that does not condemn us but calls us to itself. This
love receives us as we are.
Parker Palmer

35. The deepest level of communication is
not communication but communion. It is
wordless. It is beyond words, and beyond
speech, and it is beyond concept.

36. Exodus 14:14
13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not
fear! (h)Stand by and see the salvation of the
Lord which He will accomplish for you today;
for the Egyptians whom you have seen
today, you will never see them again forever.
14 The Lord will fight for you while you
keep silent.”

37. Psalm 131:1-2
1My heart is not proud, Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.

38. Elijah

39. He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before
the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by "Now
there was a great wind, so strong that it was
splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces
before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the
wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the
LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the
earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the
fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his
mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of
the cave. Then there came a voice to him

40. that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He
answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken
your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed
your prophets with the sword.
I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take
it away." Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on
your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you
arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram...
and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-
meholah as prophet in your place...." So he set out
from there, and found Elisha... and threw his
mantle over him.

41. How often to we take the time to
listen
Francis Quarles

43. Meditation is the life of the soul:
Action, the soul of meditation; and
honor the reward of action.
Francis Quarles

44. Solitude
&
Silence
Refilling Your Wineskins