When you say nothing at all
I wrote before that I used to scoff at the idea of love songs to Jesus. No more. This morning, as I listened to “When You Say Nothing at All,” I began wondering how it could be a love song to Jesus. I heard it first in one of my favorite movies, “Notting Hill.” In the extended version, the director said he had heard it sung by Alison Krauss. I was already a big fan of Alison Krauss and delighted to add another of her songs to my list of Liked Songs.
For years, as I listened, I pictured the scene in the movie and reflected on some of the words, which seemed apt for my dear hubby, who is a man of few words. Today, though, I thought I could also hear words about God, his love for me and mine for him, and the way silence conveys that love “without saying a word.”
Often, after prayer and meditation, I do feel I have heard words from God. They come to me as thoughts that seem as if they are sent by God in response to a concern or prayer, or sometimes, apparently randomly. (I use tools of discernment to try to “test” whether the words come from God, mainly asking, “Does this bring me closer to God?”) Other times, though, there is just silence. I may feel God’s presence, I may visualize myself walking beside Jesus, sitting with Him, or being held by Him, but no words come to mind. Yet that silence is a wonderful consolation. He “speaks right to my heart.”
May you know the love of God even when he seems to “say nothing at all.”
Lyrics “When You Say Nothing at All”
Song by Ronan Keating ‧ 1999
… It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
… Without saying a word, you can light up the dark
… Try as I may, I can never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing
… The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
… You say it best when you say nothing at all
… All day long, I can hear people talking out loud (ooh)
… But when you hold me near (you hold me near), you drown out the crowd (out the crowd)
Try as they may, they can never define
What's being said between your heart and mine
… The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
… You say it best (you say it best) when you say nothing at all
… Oh, the smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
… You say it best (you say it best) when you say nothing at all
… That smile on your face (you say it best)
(When you say nothing at all) the truth in your eyes
The touch of your hand lets me know that you need me (you say it best, when you say nothing at all)
(You say it best when you say nothing at all) nothing at all
(You say it best when you say nothing at all) nothing at all
(You say it best when you say nothing at all) nothing at all
… nothing at all