A Time to be Silent

The Bible tells us that there is a time to be silent.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven . . . a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;” Ecclesiastes 3:1,8

The Bible teaches us that there are times we ought to speak (Heb. 13.16). But it also teaches us that in some instances, or circumstances we need to be silent. If we want to serve the Lord we may be called on to do both.

Did you know that there were times Jesus was silent?

“And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.” Matthew 27:12

I Peter 2:22-23 reads, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:”

As Christians it is our job to show Jesus to the world (II Cor. 5.20). And sometimes in order to show Him we also need to be quiet. Does this make sense? Maybe at first glance it might not, but the Lord actually tells us in some places to be quiet. And speaking at the wrong time could be a hindrance. It is Biblical to pray for the Lord to direct our words (Ps. 19.14; Col 4. 3-4; II Thes. 3.1). And surely if we want to be the most effective witnesses for Him we need to do what He says.

Now I remember many times teaching a Sunday school lesson the little kids would interrupt and try to say something. They would have an opinion on what was being said. They wanted their voices to be heard. There is a time to ask questions, but there is a time to be silent. Like in Sunday school if we are talking while a lesson is being taught we will surely miss something. Sometimes we need to just be quiet. We need to be quiet and listen to the Spirit of God. Sometimes also us speaking can draw the attention of others off of the Lord and onto ourselves or something else. This shouldn’t be the case if we want to glorify the Lord and win souls.

In Luke 9:35 we read “And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.”

Sometimes bowing down and being silent is the best witness. It shows how great a God we serve!

“ . . . Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day . . . .The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:13-14

Zecheriah 2:13 reads, “Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.”

Speaking at the wrong time or place can mess up a picture. One of the earliest things I can remember after I was saved as a child, is that I saw sin as ugly. And I know I started to see how beautiful Jesus is. Jesus should be beautiful to every saved person. Often I have thought that Jesus is like a beautiful piece of music. Like disrupting a beautiful piece of music, saying something, or doing something out of the Lord’s will disrupt the picture of how beautiful Jesus is.

There are some specific Biblical principles when we ought to keep silent.

We ought to be silent rather than speak a lie. Psalm 101:7 reads,“ He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.”

The Lord wants us to speak the truth. If we lie we can’t have fellowship with the Lord until we get it right with Him. And our light will never be the witness it should be until we get things right.

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:” I John 1:5-6

We should be silent when what we speak isn’t out of love. Ephesians 4:15 reads “But speaking the truth in love . . .” We need to be sure our words are out of love. Sometimes truth is painful. But it doesn’t mean that it isn’t out of love. Jesus always spoke the truth in love, and he said the following, “ [E]xcept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Lk. 13.5).

We need to give the Lord room, and first place when we speak. John 3:30 reads,“He must increase, but I must decrease.” There is only so much time in a day. People only have so long of an attention span. I once was talking to someone, and I had the opportunity to relate what they said to the Bible. But as I wrote my response, I realized there was so much of “what I wanted to say” that there wasn’t much room for “what Jesus says”. I fixed this.

There are some specific places where the Lord just told us to “be quiet.”

The Lord wanted people in His Church to speak in a known tongue (or a language everyone knew). If someone was going to speak in an unknown language in the Church, they needed an interpreter. If they didn’t have an interpreter they were to keep silence in the Church.

“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.” I Corinthians 14:27-28

The Lord didn’t want everybody getting up and talking at once in Church.

“Let all things be done decently and in order.” (I Cor.14.40). See also I Corinthians 14:23.

There is another specific command to be silent.

Earlier I wrote that that Jesus is like a beautiful piece of music. Like disrupting a beautiful piece of music, saying something, or doing something out of the Lord’s will disrupt the picture of how beautiful Jesus is.

Later studying the Bible I noticed that both times the Apostle Paul speaks of singing songs, he speaks of submission.

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19-22

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