To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
(Ecclesiastes 3:1,7)
LORD Jesus, we praise You, for Your name is great and above all other names. You gave us the Word. We can study the Scriptures to learn the Truth, and the Truth will set us free. Forgive us, O God, we pray, whenever we neglect to faithfully read Your Word. Guide us and help us to believe, to trust, and to do what Your Word says. In Jesus’ wonderful name, we pray. Amen.
After reading 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and the last two blog posts, Learning in Silence and Keep Silent, let’s dig a little deeper to find examples of the seasons—when to keep silence and when to speak.
Churches asking women (have) to keep silence
A while back, my husband and I attended a local Brethren church where—during Sunday’s worship services—most of the women wear a head covering and keep silent. The women are allowed to sing along, but they are not permitted to share any thoughts about Bible verses or to pray out loud.
While we were attending this church, we respected their code of conduct, of course. My husband and I believe, though, that women should be allowed to pray in church—being in submission, but not just silently. (I’ll get more into that in another day’s post.)
Churches in which men—and women—speak up
Churches where women are taking over the leading and praying, along with teaching, is the other extreme. True, it is sad whenever men do not hear their women pray in church, but it is even sadder whenever men do not pray because of their women taking the lead.
They don’t want to cause harm. Instead, these women long to break the ice. In your own life, just think, how many times do you want to “assist” and talk (speak up) for someone you care about? “If everybody else is keeping silent, I’ll be so kind to do the praying,” might be some of our—the women’s—thought and reason to pray out loud more often than the men.
Whatever their reason/s and excuses may be, after a while many of the men in these churches will keep silent and will not pray (anymore). What a shame because these men could be so easily motivated to pray and to pray more often.
What about women teaching others? That will the topic for the next blog post, so please stay tuned.
Remember that there is a time for every purpose under heaven today.
