Our days are so noisy!  They are filled with text messages, email notifications, music, podcasts, children, and the like.  We've become so accustomed to the sounds that it just feels like the natural rhythm of life.  And then Lent comes and we resolve to spend more time in prayer, only to find that the silence seems unbearable or like something is wrong.  

1 Kings 19: 11-13 describes Elijah's experience meeting God.  He was told to go out and stand on the mountain because the Lord was about to pass by.  There was a rushing wind so strong that it was splitting rock into pieces, but he didn't hear God.  Then there was an earthquake.  Still, he did not hear God.  Then a fire; nothing!  And then came the sound of sheer silence.  That's when he heard God!  Just like Elijah, if we really want to hear from God, we need to turn down the volume and spend some time in the sheer silence.