Silence Before the Holy

Lynn McChlery November 07, 2026 6 5

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Habakkuk 2: 20 (NIV-UK)

20 The Lord is in his holy temple;
    let all the earth be silent before him.

This pithy capsule statement about God comes at the end of a prophecy against false gods. Idols need to be created and made beautiful by human labour and cajoled into response by human effort. Of course that’s fruitless – they have no life. In stark contrast, God is. When human striving ceases and noise is stilled God doesn’t collapse into nothing, because God is not a creature of our summoning. Rather the opposite: when we reach the end of our resources, God is revealed. In the silence, God is, and we as his created beings are invited to contemplate him in holiness and wonder. Even in heaven, worship won’t always be in words or music – there will be silence (Revelation 8:1). What kind of silence? There are many kinds: shocked, embarrassed, even huffy! Perhaps the closest to silence before the holy is the suspended silence that follows a brilliant play or concert, before the applause breaks out. Collectively, people have been lifted to something beyond themselves.

Silence is counter-cultural for us, and many people find it unsettling. Do you always need music playing in the car, ear buds on a walk, background television at home? None of that is wrong, but this phenomenon is modern. Before recorded music, none of that would have been possible and silence would have been the norm. It’s worth asking how silence makes me feel. Why might I find it uncomfortable? What am I pulling away from?

St John Vianney told a story about a French parishioner who sat in the back of a church for hours in silent prayer. When the parish priest asked him what he did during that long time, the man simply replied: "I look at Him, and He looks at me, and we are happy." 

Prayer:

God, who are you for me today? In the silence, how do I look at you?

Then, who am I today before you? How do you look at me?