Mama Maggie Gobran has learned there are secrets to be revealed during times of silence to get to know God. Gobran is a Coptic Christian and the founder of the non-profit charity Stephen’s Children.
In 2011, Gobran spoke to leaders at the Global Leadership Summit, hosted by Willow Creek Church. In the following video, she shares how the practice of silence helped her “get to know the Almighty, the Most High” and how she gradually developed this discipline.
“To be in silence is to be fully inside your own self.” Gobran says. Then she adds, “It’s not easy,” but this is when “we discover the taste of eternity.” This is because “the kingdom is within,” Gobran says, pointing to her chest.
Gobran offers a loose formula to practice the discipline of silence in order to hear from God:
Silence your body to listen to words
Silence your tongue to listen to your thoughts
Silence your thoughts to listen to your heart beating
Silence your heart to listen to your spirit
Silence your spirit to listen to his spirit
“In silence, you leave many to be with the one.”
