The Prayer Tool of Silence and Sound - Hand Saw

Hand saws have been around for thousands of years. In woodworking and carpentry, hand saws cut pieces of wood into different shapes. The

hand saw has a flat, sharp edge with a handle at one end for manual operation.

“To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven...a time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7).” Before the hand saw makes noise cutting the wood, the user practices sawing with a silent practice motion for accuracy. Sometimes the hand saw of prayer is silence so that you can hear the still, small voice. Elijah, the prophet, learned that God is not in the noise of the wind, fire, or earthquakes, but God is in the silence of a gentle whisper. (I Kings 19:11-12). Prayer can also be complete and total silence. “The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him (Habakkuk 2:20).”

Prayer cannot be limited to silence. You need both silence and the sound of prayer. Sometimes prayer is making a joyful noise. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise (Psalm 98:4).” The Psalmist David was a man of great prayer. In the Psalms, he experienced prayer as both the silence and the noise. He encouraged people to do both. David also described prayer, communication with God, to be the noise produced by singing, dancing, and playing instruments. “Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the tambourine and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals (Psalm 150:3-5).” 

God is diverse and cannot be limited to one form of expression. Be careful not to be extreme and exalt one expression over the other. Use your wrench of prayer as both stillness and movement. Use your hand saw of prayer as silence and noise. As you grow in Christ consciousness, you become proficient in all forms of communication with God and equip yourself to encourage others to do the same.

    

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