Every day, cities large and small, experience the noise of busyness and growth more and more. Add to that a growing lack of respect among the population.

Peace and quiet has become a rarity. All around us people are in a rush, multiple conversations going on at the same time, cars honking, loud music, the constant chatter on cell phones…

Certain activities lose their pleasure when they clash with their surroundings. How can you listen to an orchestra and marvel at the the sounds of each instrument, with so many other things going on around you?

Unless you’re able to absorb each word in a book, how can you learn anything while stuffed into a crowded library cubicle?

How can you go to a museum and enjoy the rare works of art, made with exquisite skill and talent, when you’re not left in silence?

Could you understand a complex subject being taught in a room filled with unruly students?

If “silence is golden” for the things of the world, how much more for the things of the Spirit?

Because He wanted us to take full advantage of His instructions, the Lord Almighty once said: Take heed and listen, O Israel! Deuteronomy 27:9

He doesn’t speak when we are speaking. He speaks when we are silent and thirsty for His voice.

A small detail in the construction of the Temple of Solomon in the past teaches us a fundamental lesson for today.

And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 1 Kings 6:7

Time was taken to shape heavy blocks of stone at the quarry, so that when they were brought to the construction site, workers could simply slide them into place. The same process was used for metal and wood in the construction. Everything was organized so that close to 180,000 men worked for 7 years in silence and reverence.

If such care was taken during the construction, imagine what it must have been like on the day of the Temple’s grand opening. Imagine those who had the privilege of being present, even if it was in the outer courts!

Many people attend church, but don’t receive great things from God because they don’t show respect for what is holy. Before meetings they talk and laugh about things that distance them from anything spiritual.

It’s rare to find people who intentionally arrive early in order to pray. The noise of “rocks smashing together” is heard in so many churches — it’s become a common, acceptable practice.

Silence communicates a fear of God and an appreciation for Him, as it is written: It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:26

Prayer and spiritual understanding do not mix with frivolous talk and noise, which may surprise some. If this was not true, God would not have led His servants into deserts — Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and the Lord Jesus. There, God’s voice did not have to compete with anything else; it was loud and clear.

Today we are living stones in God’s Temple (1 Peter 2:5), and if we obey His instructions we will be a perfect fit for His plans.

May reverence be a part of our daily spiritual sacrifice.