When Words Get in the Way

I am a words person. I love writing and books, and nothing makes me happier than to express exactly what I mean to say and how I want to say it. Finding the perfect turn of a phrase to capture a complex thought makes me downright giddy.

I was a Communication Studies major in college. After quickly realizing majoring in music was not for me, I sort of stumbled into that as my area of study. But I soon discovered how much I loved living in the world of expression and learning what it looks like to bring our internal world into our external surroundings through words and ideas.

Along with this, I developed a deep love for writing. I had journaled extremely sporadically growing up, but after college when I moved to Illinois and began my church leadership program, I began journaling almost daily, typing away on my computer as the words came faster than my pen could write.

As I’ve shared in this space before, words are one of the primary ways I connect with God and myself–both through writing and reading the words of others.

But as powerful as words are, sometimes they can get in the way of an experience of what is true.

There is a space beyond words where we find an inner knowing, one that resides in our actual body. And it requires the words to cease for a while if we’re going to have the space to rest within it.

Have you ever been with a close friend or your spouse when you didn’t feel the need to fill every silence? What a gift to just enjoy being with someone without needing to say any words at all.

Along with that, knowing a person is far more than having information about them. To truly know a person isn’t about a list of facts, but an experience of who they are when you’re with them.

The same is true with Jesus. We are invited to know him in the space beyond words, to move from knowing about Jesus to experiencing who he is when we’re with him.

Jesus loves to simply be with us, and we don’t even have to say a word.

How might it feel to just sit in the silence, knowing Jesus is with you in it?

You don’t have to pray the right words, or figure anything out, or prove anything to him. You don’t have to read words about him, even though of course there’s a time for that.

But sometimes, the invitation is to simply rest–as who you are, in the presence of who he is.

There is so much mystery when it comes to our faith, and often we work so hard at trying to explain it that we miss the beauty of this.

Maybe we need to just let the words cease for a while so we can simply enjoy the beauty of what can never be explained.

If you feel the invitation to enter the space beyond words and want some tangible ideas for how to do it, here are some practices that can help:

This is the simplest and most approachable–and yet often the most powerful way–to move beyond words. One of my favorite practices to recommend is to set a timer for five minutes and simply sit in silence. This is not a time for praying words, and we are not even seeking to hear a word from God. We are simply enjoying the stillness of resting in God’s presence.

This type of prayer is about being with God without the use of words. It’s very similar to simply sitting in silence, but I think it adds a layer of intentionality to it. The purpose of this type of prayer is to rest in and receive the love of God.

It’s been described as “looking at God, looking at you, in love” as we “let God love us into people of love” (from Practicing the Way, by John Mark Comer). This is a prayer where we let go of striving and our only aim is to receive God’s love in a way that transforms us from the inside out.

Go for a walk with nothing playing in your ears–no music, no podcast. It could just be around the block or on a trail through the woods. Begin the walk with a short prayer acknowledging that God is with you, and express that you simply desire to take a walk with him.

As you walk, notice the beauty around you–take in the sky and the trees. Tune in to your senses: How does the fresh air feel? How does it smell? What do you see? Notice the feel of the ground below you. I especially love this particular way of entering the space beyond words, because it’s embodied. It helps you move out of your mind and connect with your whole self, including your body–an often-neglected yet essential part of us.

Sometimes when I’m in silence, my mind will get distracted. This is normal. At times, what fills my mind is a song I have stuck in my head. I’ve found that sometimes listening to instrumental music can help me settle in to the silence and allow my mind to release the words.

Choose songs that don’t have words attached to them that your mind will naturally try to fill in. My favorite playlist is called “Peaceful Piano” on Spotify, if you need a place to start.

I am and always be a words person. But words can only take us so far. Letting go of words is admitting that I cannot completely explain or figure out my faith or my life.

I don’t want to just know about Jesus. I want to experience who he is.

As I release my effort at words, it’s an act of trust and a surrender of control. It opens me up to receive the wisdom and strength that can only come from the Spirit of God, and it leads to a knowing that can only come from experience.

And this is something that words can never express.

Tell us in the comments: Which of these practices resonate with you? What would you add to this list?

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