The Quaker Ministry of Silence and the Bible

Among the first things I experienced when I came to the United States almost three years ago that differed from my Quaker tradition was silent worship. Our gatherings in Central America are filled with sounds from music, preaching, and testimonies. I remember entering our first worship service of the semester at Earlham School of Religion (ESR) and feeling a bit disoriented, primarily because of the novelty of everything around me. Some of this was the new university, language, professors, and classmates, etc., but in particular, I didn’t know how to behave during the worship service.

So I observed what everyone around me was doing and imitated them. Everyone entered the worship hall at the appointed time, greeted each other discreetly from a distance, found their preferred seats, and remained in silence for approximately 45 minutes. When someone indicated that the meeting had concluded, everyone stood up and said goodbye in the same manner they had greeted each other, and left.

Since that first time, I have participated in many unprogrammed silent worship meetings, so I believe I have learned to navigate them and now understand their dynamics. No, it’s not just about sitting and being silent. Amid that absolute silence, many things are happening among those present, both individually and within the community as a whole. Although not all aspects of the dynamics align with my experience and spiritual background, it is fair to acknowledge that it is an individual and collective practice of great spiritual richness that is worth sharing. 

Let’s begin by providing a fair explanation of what a Quaker silent worship meeting is. According to Quaker scholar Michael Birkel, the community gathers together in a waiting, expectant frame of spirit. Worship is in silence until a participant feels led to share a message with those present. There may be many, few, or no such messages. The meeting concludes when the person with responsibility for closing the worship discerns that the time has drawn to an end. Usually some people shake hands with the participants at the end. In a modest and simple way, that’s how any Quaker silent worship meeting unfolds—nothing extravagant. It is in the spiritual dimension (individual and collective) where the transcendent occurs, for in silence and stillness, the Spirit of God manifests, revealing His will and Truth, bringing peace and fulfillment to everyone.

According to George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, fleshy wisdom dies in silence. As a worshiper turns away from their own thoughts, imagination, and desires in order to wait upon the Lord, their strength is renewed. Fox asserted that God revealed to him the form of silent worship to replace the forms—rife with confusion, schism, and corruption—of the apostate church of that era. We might say that silence was a subversive worship element that God revealed to Fox.

Fox’s experience connects me directly to the biblical account in Matthew 6:5–15, where Jesus tells followers not to be like the hypocrites who loved to pray in public (in order to be seen by others) but rather to withdraw and pray in private. In both experiences—that of Fox and that of Jesus—I identify the same three elements: first, the corruption and perversion of prayer or other aspects of worshiping God; second, God’s command to His people to withdraw/separate themselves from such practices; and third, Jesus himself shows them what the correct way to pray is, which is a sober and quiet way, so that with distractions silenced, the voice of God can be heard clearly.

Amid that absolute silence, many things are happening among those present, both individually and within the community as a whole. Although not all aspects of the dynamics align with my experience and spiritual background, it is fair to acknowledge that it is an individual and collective practice of great spiritual richness that is worth sharing. 

Now let’s take a look at the seventeenth-century Scottish Quaker Robert Barclay, known as the Quaker theologian, and his thoughts and experiences related to silence. Barclay places great emphasis on the collective aspect of worship. What unites all those gathered—both outwardly and inwardly—is waiting upon the Lord. Worshipers should focus on God, turning away from their own thoughts and desires, so that the Spirit pours forth a power and virtue that refreshes the soul, thereby fulfilling the promise that He is in the midst of those who gather in His name. Barclay highlights three things that take place in corporate worship: the refreshing of the soul, the building up of the church, and the glorification of God.

Barclay supports his argument on collective/communal worship with Matthew 18:20, which emphasizes God’s promise to be present wherever people gather in His name. In Proposition 6 of his 1676 Apology for the True Christian Divinity, Barclay refers to the manifestations and signs that occur in worship services. Barclay cites 1 Corinthians 2:4, where Paul tells the Corinthians that his ministry to them was not in the works of the flesh but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power. Barclay uses this Pauline reference to say that the manifestations and signs that occur in worship services are not due to human wisdom or ability but to the power of the Spirit.

Joseph John Gurney, a British Friend born 140 years after Barlcay, has recently become one of my favorite Quaker figures. In the section “On Silence” from Observations on the Religious Peculiarities of the Society of Friends, Gurney says that if he were asked what is most essential in worship, he would not hesitate to answer that it is a profound humility and submission of the soul to God. Gurney draws a distinction between the worshiper and God: the former is finite, ignorant, and weak, while the latter is omnipotent and eternal.

Gurney cited the prophets Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zechariah to argue that in worship, the most important thing is the exaltation of God and the subsequent complete surrender of the worshiper before their Lord. Personally, the first biblical reference that came to my mind when reading Gurney’s idea was the one narrated in Isaiah 6, when Isaiah has a vision in which God is seated on His throne and there is heavenly worship before Him: seraphim declaring, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa. 6:3, New International Version). Faced with such a scene of worship of God, Isaiah recognizes his own weakness and exalts the King whom his eyes have seen. This idea, part of Quaker worship philosophy, has a solid biblical foundation and was strongly based on it.

Contemporary Quaker scholar Michael Birkel emphasizes that vocal ministry—an audible message, usually brief, that someone expresses during the worship—should come from a deep sense of community, which means that it must arise from inner communion with God and the other worshipers, and be for the edification of the worshiping community. The audible message might be a verse from Scripture for collective reflection or a message of exhortation to deepen one’s relationship with God. Still, one must be self-aware so as not to convey a message whose impulse is superficial and emotional. We must not create a message that feeds the personal ego or is intended to please others.

Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, as narrated in Acts 2:14–42, although lengthy, bears several similarities to Quaker vocal ministry. Firstly, it takes place in an atmosphere of community and unity, as the Bible says that they were all together in one accord (2:1, King James Version). Secondly, they had gathered to await the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, which seems similar to the “expectant waiting” practiced by Quakers in their silent meetings. Thirdly, since they were all gathered in God’s name, as Barclay previously mentioned, the Holy Spirit came, bringing powerful manifestations, one of which was the conversion of around 3,000 people as a result of Peter’s preaching.

Although the topic has been addressed primarily as a communal and ecclesial practice, Quakerism also encompasses and teaches private prayer and silence as an individual practice. Birkel states that the communal experience of worship should be complemented by the nourishment each individual receives during personal devotional retreats, a process he describes as interior prayer. William Penn expressed to his son in his writing Counsel and Advice to His Wife and Children that in the stillness and silence of the early hours of the day, before the sun shines in its full glory, and before undertaking any other activity, the worshiper withdraws and encounters God in prayer. This prayer may be accompanied by reading and meditating on the Scriptures. Penn reminds his son that amid the activities of his day, he should be mindful of God’s Presence with him and urges him to be careful with words, actions, and thoughts. Penn’s advice to his son describes the most familiar scenario of silent worship to me, since in Guatemala Yearly Meeting, individual prayer is more emphasized than collective prayer.

Mark 1:35 recounts how Jesus withdrew to a solitary place in the early morning to pray. David also mentions morning prayer in Psalm 5:3. It seems that the quiet of the morning, while not having any magical or indispensable factor for prayer, does have some very favorable characteristics, such as silence, stillness, and the freshness of mind and spirit of the worshiper. Being the first activity of the day, it is a demonstration of the place God occupies in our lives. If we prioritized other daily activities before prayer, we probably would not even pray at all. By prioritizing it over all other activities, we are demonstrating that it is something irreplaceable in our daily lives. Also, being the first activity of the day, it allows us to entrust all the other activities of the day to God’s guidance and direction, since we want every word, thought, and action of the day to be pleasing to God and to have His blessing.

At the age of 20, George Fox was engaged in incessant inner searching when he was assailed by great temptation and despair. Fox recalled that Jesus had also been tempted but had not yielded to Satan’s attacks, and so he (Fox) continued to seek guidance from priests and ministers. Fox took long, solitary walks at night and in the early morning, and he read the Scriptures: all to alleviate his anguish. He continued in this way for two years until, in 1646, God revealed Himself to him during a solitary walk, letting him know that no earthly thing was necessary to be His minister but only the gift of God. Then Fox was satisfied and marveled at God’s goodness. I believe that Fox, being tempted and going through much human anguish, followed Christ’s example by seeking—in prayer, silence, and solitude—God’s answer, which alone was sufficient to satisfy his condition. 

Relevant and genuine silent worship must yield outward evidence—such as Quaker testimonies and the fruits of the Spirit—which, enlivened by the power of the Spirit, can transform a society that stands in such dire need of it.

In addition to the communal or collective aspect—as well as the individual aspect—of Quaker worship, there also exists an inner aspect (known as “Inward Light”) as well as an outer one (known as “outward light”). Birkel mentions that the Spirit first transforms the individual through the inner worship and then the individual manifests spiritual virtues capable of transforming their environment. These transformative practices within Quakerism are known as “testimonies,” which are essentially manifestations of the inner transformation of worshipers who then seek to transform society.

The public witness of early Quakerism is the most appropriate example to support the argument that worship is only truly effective if it leads the worshiper from the temple or place of worship into the outside world to embody the fruits of the Spirit. The Quakers began with their refusal to remove their hats before those in power, refusal to take oaths or to support war, and later they extended their activism to fighting against racial segregation and advocating for the rights of women, prisoners, and other causes. These radical actions led George Fox himself to prison on several occasions, but it was a price he was willing to pay for having a living faith and not merely a “nominal one.” Quaker testimonies are, in biblical terms, “the fruit of the Spirit” mentioned in Galatians 5:22–25. The fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; and against such things, the Scriptures add, there is no law.

Although I am far from being an expert on Quakerism and its practice of silent worship, it is my opinion that the entire development (or a large part of it) and practice of Quaker silent worship was conceived and based strongly on the Scriptures. This is evidenced in historical Quaker writings, which show that the early Quakers were men and women of great biblical knowledge and reliance, and they based much of their lives on the Bible.

I am convinced that silent worship is not merely an element of Quaker history but a ministry that remains highly vital and relevant in these times that are so filled with noise and distractions. Every Quaker is called to carry forward the legacy of this noble practice—not as a lifeless tradition or ritual but as the means to connect with God and be transformed by the power of His Spirit from the inside out. Relevant and genuine silent worship must yield outward evidence—such as Quaker testimonies and the fruits of the Spirit—which, enlivened by the power of the Spirit, can transform a society that stands in such dire need of it.