The Very Rev Dr John Chalmers encourages us to encounter God in silence.

THE poster above my desk declares, “A meaningful silence is always better than meaningless words”. Each day it reminds me just how powerful silence can be and each day it reminds me of the very significant role that silence plays in all of the great religious traditions.

You find it in the meditative exercises of Buddhism. From the roots of Islam comes the beautiful saying, “Speak only when your words are more beautiful than silence”. The cultivation of ‘silence within’ is ingrained in the Hindu religion. From the Jewish tradition we have the writing of the Psalmist who, as he observes the tumult of nations and the violence of nature, reminds his readers “to be still and in the stillness experience the presence of God”.

Most importantly in the Christian tradition, carried over from the Jewish faith, we find Jesus – alone on the Mount of Olives, out on the Sea of Galilee or kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane, not filling the air with words, but waiting before God in the silence.

Silence is one of those things which is sometimes interpreted as being nothing, but it really is something. That is why people sometimes call it poignant, at other times they call it eerie and I have heard others speak of a terrible silence, a dreadful silence and a powerful silence – all proving that silence is not nothing.

Silence is not nothing and that, of course, is why movie makers use it to such great effect. Silence is not nothing and that is why composers rely on it as much as they rely on the notes on the score. There is no music, if there are no spaces between the notes.

Sadly, however, we live in an age that finds it difficult to tolerate silence. The politician who walks past the clamouring reporters and offers no comment is immediately under suspicion. Our mobile devices ping and we respond like there is no tomorrow. Piped music is everywhere in the background, television or radio wakes us in the morning and bids usgoodnight as we fall asleep. Earphones fill the space between our ears and when we are with others there seems to be an overpowering urge to fill the silent moments with words. We have become a people who can find silence awkward.

It is, however, my experience that at times of great grief, anguish or fear we do not get our strength from words or from piped music, it is more common to find strength in the power of silence. Not just our own silence, but the silence of those who sit with us. Not knowing what to say they make the tea and they sit with us in silence. If they spoke their words might be trite and meaningless, but their being there is enough. And as they sit with us in the silence, God is with us.

“We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.”

I would encourage you not to be afraid of those times when there are no words. I would encourage you to practise silence, even for the shortest periods of time be intentionally quiet and as empty as you can be of all the worries of everyday.

Switch the TV off, set your mobile device to one side and see what good the silence will do for your body, mind and spirit, but the greatest benefit of all is that it is the silence we can encounter God. Mother Teresa put it this way: “We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.

See how nature – trees, flowers, grassgrows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence, we need silence to be able to touch souls.”