Ben Jack considers spending time alone with God

Ben Jack

I like to talk; a lot. Seriously, ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you, I'm a talker. Now, it's not that I don't like to listen as well. If the conversation is flowing I'm all ears. I just like to keep things moving, I'm not exactly known for my silences.

It's not just in conversation either. I'm the kind of person that needs to have noise around me all the time. If I'm walking to the shops, the iPod goes in the ears. If I'm alone in the house, the TV goes on for background noise. Lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I'll stick a podcast on and let the voices send me to my dreams.

I've often wondered why it is that I like sound so much? After all, I'm a DJ, so a big part of my life involves using sounds to create a great experience for people. I guess that maybe I'm just more comfortable when there is noise than when there isn't.

I travel around to all sorts of events during the year. I've experienced just about every kind of youth service, celebration and festival going. One thing I've often noticed is a common trend when it comes to the 'response time', which usually takes place as the speaker is drawing the theme of the event to a close with some kind of call to commitment or declaration. More often than not, as the speaker moves from their 'talk' into the 'response', music will begin to play. It might be the keyboard player of the worship band who, using ninja-like skills, has crept back onto the stage to provide the ambient soundtrack to the moment at hand. Other times I've seen the whole band begin to play, a DJ spinning some background tunes, video clips with meditative images and sound. Whatever the source, the idea is the same - creating an atmosphere that is helpful for those who are thinking about responding to the message.

I remember being at one event when a friend of mine was playing keys in the worship band. It was agreed beforehand that during the response time he would come on stage and start playing some background music. After his initial suggestions of a few Elton John covers were shot down (joke, but I'd be all for it), everything was set for the response. Sure enough, after an impassioned preach, the speaker began to call people to respond to the message and my friend began to play his keys (keyboard that is - I have yet to see a worship response bashed out on a couple of car keys).

The more he played, the more he could feel the atmosphere of the room. He closed his eyes and began to personally worship, playing beautiful melodies that would surely lead people into the presence of God. The only problem was, whilst he could hear his keyboard perfectly in his in-ear monitors, nothing was coming out of the speakers to the crowd. The entire response was done in silence, whilst on stage in front of everyone, under the impression all could hear as he could, my friend was going for it Stevie Wonder style. Awkward.

Silence often is awkward. The fear of a first date is usually that of sitting in silence over coffee or dinner, realising you have absolutely nothing to talk about. The problem is, in our quest to eradicate the awkwardness of silence, have we lost the ability to really listen to God, to create space where he can be heard?

The Bible gives us loads of examples of people taking the time to get space and solitude with God, not least Jesus. Jesus knew how important it was to hear from the Father, for encouragement, refreshment and instruction. Forty days in the desert; removing himself from the crowds (and the disciples) at Capernaum and his time in the garden of Gethsemene before his arrest are all revelations to us of a Jesus who values prayer and solitude with his Father. There is no question that during these so called 'wilderness' experiences Jesus would have spent time in silence, waiting on his Father's voice. If Jesus, fully human, but also who was and is fully God, needed to do such a thing, how much more must we!

Creating space for God doesn't have to be an awkward experience; especially when we are on our own. Those first date silences will be painful, but zoom forward forty years of marriage and the silences that come will be much more comfortably and naturally played out. The more you wait silently on God the more comfortable you will become.

But, I would go further than just suggesting it as a personal activity and encourage it when we are gathered together in our churches and at our events too. The temptation can be to create an environment where God can move through an emotive musical soundtrack. Watch any thrilling Hollywood movie without the soundtrack and it will lose some of its impact. The music is designed to increase the power of the scene on the viewer. We use a similar technique in our gatherings which has a power that can be helpful in stirring our hearts, but can also hinder when it promotes emotional response over a true focus on what God is saying to his people.

We do a great job of filling our lives, church gatherings, camps and festivals with noise. God has given us a beautiful tool in music through which, (although not exclusively) we can worship, meditate and focus on him. This is not a call to do away with all of this. However, we have a rich biblical heritage of people who give themselves the space and silence they need to hear from, and then be obedient to, their Father God. Isn't it time we learned from their example?

My challenge to myself is to spend time every day, silently alone with God. Through prayer and study of his word I want to commit to giving him the space to speak to me so that I might know him better. It may turn out to be the most comfortable and natural thing I ever do. However, I'm prepared for it to be awkward. I'm prepared for it to be uncomfortable. And I'm prepared for it to be all about him. Are you?