Cultivating a Healthy Soul: Silence and Solitude

Tired — almost fatigued. Restless. Irritable. Disconnected from God. This summarizes how I was feeling recently on an ordinary day. I could not point to an event or reason that was the cause of these less-than-desirable feelings. But because I am on the well-paved journey of listening to my soul, I stopped and asked myself and God, “What’s going on?” I then had that small, still prompting in my heart that said, “Silence and Solitude.” At that moment, those three words told me the answer and the solution to my problem.

I hope you are also on a journey to Soul health. Just like feeling pain in our bodies indicates a problem, we can listen to our souls as a way of knowing that our soul needs some attention. That day, all my feelings showed me that I needed to stop and ask my Father and Creator what was happening. He made me, knows me, loves me, and gave me the answer and solution that He knew I needed. He knew the answer I wouldn’t have come up with alone. In that moment, He became my Great Physician, healing my soul.

This spiritual discipline does not have to be costly or time-consuming. You don’t have to read a book or take a course to take advantage of its benefits today. Over 60 years ago, C.S. Lewis noted, “We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence….” 

What is Silence and Solitude, and what does it look like?

Practicing the Way explains Silence and Solitude by saying, “Simply put, it's a moment of intentional time in the quiet to be alone with God.” And John Mark Comer, in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, says, “Solitude is when you set aside time to feed and water and nourish your soul.”  

At Soul Shepherding, they explain that “solitude is for being alone with God. It is completed by silence. In other words, if you are practicing solitude and silence, they come together as one experience. The purpose and joy of that experience is time doing nothing except being with God.”

How to practice Silence and Solitude

Here at Intentionally Ordinary, we like to keep things simple, practical, and easy to integrate into your life. So, at this time, I would like to give some simple tips on practicing Silence and Solitude in an easy but impactful way.

One way to start practicing Silence and Solitude is to take advantage of what Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline calls “little solitudes.” When we are paying attention, we can find hidden moments such as: 

1. Those early moments before the family awakes — instead of thinking about the to-do list for the day, grabbing the phone, or even pressing the snooze button, be intentional to lie quietly and focus your mind on God. 

2. Sitting in traffic — instead of listening to music, news, or podcasts, direct your thoughts to God. You don’t have to say or do anything, although I find it helpful to imagine Jesus sitting next to me or imagining myself in a meadow underneath a tree with Jesus. Use your imagination for what feels relaxing and comfortable to you.

3. Mealtimes — if you are by yourself, take a few moments to quiet your body and mind and focus on God and his presence. If you have a family, make it fun for the whole family and invite everyone at the table for a moment of silence. This can even help your children develop this skill at an early age.

As you seek to be more intentional about Silence and Solitude, you can try some of these ideas:

1. Create a “quiet place” to look forward to just “being.” In our home, we have a room where the children rarely play. It has a minimalist feeling, adorned with plants and a big front window for just sitting and enjoying the view. This place naturally brings me peace just by entering into the space.

2. If you have an outdoor area, create a space to be by yourself in the fresh air. This space can be as simple as a chair with a table and a potted plant. This outdoor space can even be a park, or maybe you have a church building or resort area that brings feelings of peace to your heart.

3. Take a Silence and Solitude walk by yourself, and bring intentional focus on seeing God in nature.

As you move deeper into this discipline, you can plan for longer times of planned silence and solitude, which might mean 10 minutes, a partial day, or even longer. Silence and Solitude nourish our souls; as you make it part of your life, your soul will crave it. If you are like me and occasionally get off track in caring for your soul, you will begin to see the signs as I did (with some help) when I felt less than great.

On that recent day when I was struggling, I thanked God for prompting me to spend time with Him in Silence and Solitude. I simply sat in my chair and quieted my body and mind, which led to feeling His presence and refreshing my soul. It was less than 10 minutes of outer and inward rest. So restoring!

Recommended Resources

If you are interested in digging deeper, here are some helpful resources:

Bible verses on Silence and Solitude: https://soulshepherding.org/bible-verses-on-solitude-and-silence/

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

Here’s to being on the journey to healthier souls — together!