The Practice of Silence & Solitude
Series: Apprenticeship – Living With Jesus, Like Jesus, For Jesus
Week 3

Big Idea: In a noisy, hurried world, one of the most radical things a disciple can do is slow down and be silent in God’s presence.

1. Jesus Practiced Silence & Solitude
• Mark 1:35 – Jesus withdrew to pray.
• Luke 5:15–16 – “He would withdraw” = Greek “hypochōreō" → continual habit of stepping back.
• If Jesus needed solitude, how much more do we?
• Henri Nouwen: “Without solitude it is almost impossible to live a spiritual life.”

2. Silence & Solitude Are Not Just Rest – They’re Resistance
• Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God.”
• 1 Kings 19:12 – Hebrew "qol demamah daqqah" = “the sound of thin silence” → God speaks in the quiet, quietly.
• Our lives are filled with noise, but silence tunes our ears to His whisper.
• Ruth Haley Barton: “In silence, we stop trying to control everything and open ourselves to God’s transforming presence.”

3. Solitude Is Where Identity Is Recovered
• The world names you by what you produce, perform, or fail.
• God says: “You are my beloved child” (Luke 3:22).
• Luke 4:1, 14 – Jesus went into the wilderness full of the Spirit, came out in the power of the Spirit.
• Exodus 33:11 – Moses spoke with God face to face, like a friend.
• Brennan Manning: “Define yourself radically as one beloved by God.”
• In solitude, God doesn’t call you pastor, leader, parent, success, or failure.
• He calls you: Mine.

Challenge
• 5–10 minutes each morning in silence.
• Phone away, eyes closed, slow breathing.
• Begin with Psalm 46:10.
• Let Jesus speak to you before anyone else does.

In a culture of noise, silence is rebellion.
In chaos, solitude is a gift.
Jesus modeled it, the early Church practiced it.
If we want to live WITH Jesus, LIKE Jesus, FOR Jesus—we must learn to listen.