Silence in Heaven

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

Observation:

In heaven there was an on-going 24/7 prayer meeting. The sounds of praise and worship were all around but now, suddenly there was complete silence. A holy hush washed over heaven and as heaven was silent, the distant prayers and cries were heard coming from the persecuted saints on earth. Who would help them? Who would join in their prayers for deliverance from suffering? The profound silence in heaven created space for the cries of oppression. It was a silence of expectation for things were about to change!

Application:

There are moments when we experience the holy hush of God’s presence. We become overwhelmed in worship and are in awe of what it is that we have experienced. There are no words to be spoken, no “amens” to be shouted — there is just silence. And in the moment of that holy silence the very faintest of sounds can be heard. Those voices rising up from far away, crying out for help in the midst of disaster.

Today is just such a moment. It’s time for us to take break from our 24/7 praise, prayer and worship and in silence, listen closely for the prayers.

They are coming from the cities of Syria.

They are coming from the tiny boats fighting the angry seas as refugees try to make their way to safety.

They are coming from the train station in Budapest.

They are coming from the refuge camp in France.

And there are more — coming from every corner of the world and even your neighborhood. But, shhhh — listen. They are crying out and we are challenged to quiet ourselves long enough to listen to their voices, find them, and minister to their needs. They are hungry, beaten, sun-scorched and drowning — do you hear them?

The silence in heaven lasted only 30 minutes. Long enough for the voices to be heard and then all God’s people joined again in prayer, and only in that silence could they begin intercede together for those who were suffering.

There is suffering today on earth.  People are hurting. The silence of heaven awaits our participation in the deliverance of all God’s people. Stop and listen and then ask God to lead you into action.

Prayer:

Lord, may I hear the voices of your children today. Amen.

Thank you to Nazarene Publishing House and Keri Mitchell for helping to create and publish Reflecting the Image. This is not a devotional book, but rather a collection of thoughts and stories which lead us in the direction of reflecting Christ. Click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.


http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/nph/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834135277

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