Ten Bible Verses About Silence, Stillness and Solitude

Last updated on: October 6, 2018 at 12:47 pm by Carl "Skye" McColman

Ten Bible Verses About Silence, Stillness and Solitude 2018-10-06T12:47:29-04:00 Carl "Skye" McColman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image Courtesy Shutterstock

This evening I’ve been asked to speak to a small house church in my neighborhood on the spirituality of silence.

This particular community is evangelical, and silence is not something that they have traditionally placed a lot of emphasis on. But their pastor (who lives across the street from me) is discerning in his heart a call to greater silence in his prayer, and knowing that silence is “my thing” he invited me to come share with the community.

It seems to me that for a community like that, the best way to introduce them to the spirituality of silence is to share with them a variety of Biblical verses that affirm the beauty and importance of silence, as well as stillness and solitude.

So I drew up the list of the following verses, and figured it was worth sharing here. These versions (with the exception of Psalm 65) come from the New Revised Standard Version, but almost any scholarly Bible translation will reveal how important silence is in these passages. What I love about each of these passages is that they look at silence not in human terms (i.e., keeping silent — or speaking out — when relating to others), but rather they all point us to the beauty and meaning of silence in how we relate to God. I know that it’s dangerous to use proof-texts, but still, I can’t help but believe that these verses taken together make a powerful witness to how silence is an essential nutrient for the spiritual life.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

“For God alone my soul in silence waits.” Psalm 62:1

“To you, O God, silence is praise.” Psalm 65:1 (this verse is often mistranslated)

“But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!” Habakkuk 2:20

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

“Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is at hand; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.” Zephaniah 1:7

“It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:26

“In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Revelation 8:1

“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.” I Kings 19:11-12 (other versions render this as “a still small voice” or “a light silent sound”)

Are there other Biblical passages about silence, stillness and solitude that you love? Please let me know!

Enjoy reading this blog?
Click here to become a patron.

Previous Post

October 4, 2018

Can Christians Use a (Non-Christian) Mantra?

Next Post

October 10, 2018 Want to Learn About Zen? Here's a Book to Get You Started

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism Announcements Art Books Catholicism Celtic Christianity Christian mysticism Christianity Contemplation Current events Etc. Family humor interfaith dialogue Interfaith Wisdom Interspirituality Lay Cistercians Living the Faith Meditation movies Mysticism Mystics nature Poetry Reviews Scripture silence Spirituality Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 August 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 May 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 March 2012 December 2011 September 2011 October 2010 August 2010 March 2010 September 2009 July 2008 January 2008 December 2007 September 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Cain killed his brother Abel because God rejected Cain's offering.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE

Support this
Column