Silence is not an absence of noise. Rather, real silence contains a fullness that can reveal to us the presence of God. Being silent before God is a form of worship, a reverent disposition before God who is ultimately beyond all words, language and concepts. In a mysterious way, it is silence that best expresses who God is. On the surface level during silent prayer there are distractions, fears and anxieties that surface. However, despite what is happening on the surface the disciple of silent prayer intends to cultivate a longing, desire, openness, trust and love for God that is expressed not with many words but with a receptive heart. Hence, silent prayer is not navel gazing, Eastern meditation or simply being lazy, but intimate relationship with God. In short, silent prayer is standing naked before God. Our example for this kind of prayer is Jesus himself, who often spends the whole night in prayer, goes out to the desert or hills to pray and who tells us when we pray not to be “overly wordy” in the hopes that God will only hear us if we pray with many words. The implication here is that prayer is not just about speaking to God or thinking about God, but that real deep prayer is a way of being with God and perhaps the most profound way to “be with God” is in silence, with little or no words.
+ Fr. Jeremiah Shryock, CFR
Monticello, NY
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