When people visit our monastery from a busy city, they are sometimes perplexed and are not sure why. Something’s “wrong,” radically different, but initially they don’t know what it is. Then it hits them: there’s no noise, but rather a deep and almost startling silence. They have no idea what it’s like not to 
be surrounded by noise, so silence is a shock.
Maybe that means it is time to cultivate the silence of the soul, which is so important for hearing the word of God and keeping it. Our spiritual lives cannot mature without silence. Elijah discovered God, not in loud and violent phenomena, but in a “still, small voice,” like a whispering breeze. We too will find it difficult to listen to God if we constantly immerse ourselves in noisy diversions. It is true that in some sense we can find God anywhere, even in the mayhem of modern urban life, but as Jesus often called his disciples to accompany Him to a place apart, He calls us as well.
Before we can benefit from silence, we have to appreciate its value and hence desire it. Many people are afraid of silence, for it reveals their inner emptiness or fears, and they must escape at all costs into the numbing anesthesia of noise. An insurance representative once came here to discuss our policies. At length he got up and said, “I’ve got to go to my car and turn on some music. This silence is driving me crazy.” I told another person that she could spend some of her commuting time simply being quiet and engaging in a simple form of prayer. She was astounded and said it never occurred to her not to immediately turn on the music when she entered her car.
Though silence can be frightening for some, it is meant to be soothing and peace-giving—the very milieu in which the grace of God embraces our hearts. But the silence that comes from inner peace is a fruit of a right relationship with God: “the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Is 32:17).
It is important to try to carve out some quiet times during the day for the “remembrance of God,” and to remind ourselves that the right ordering of the world (even our own little world) does not depend only upon us, for without Christ we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). It is also good to make regular retreats so as to give more time to the silent search for the Beloved within the soul. Prayer should be more listening than speaking, for true silence is not merely an absence of noise, but is a pregnant silence, filled with the mystery of God. Jesus commanded St Peter: “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Lk 5: 4). We can interpret that mystically: descend to the depths of the heart, let down your habitual defenses and open your whole inner life to the influx of Divine Energies, and then return to the “surface” filled with an abundance of grace.
But if you’re not a monk, you can only spend so much time in a silent environment. You have to create silence within your heart, so that you can walk with God even in the turmoil of endless activities. Turn off the car stereo and the other noisemakers you’ve grown accustomed to. Begin to get comfortable with silence. Pray the Jesus Prayer during the day, as far as possible, to recover some inner peace. You can take short breaks—even just a minute or so—to stop whatever you are doing and acknowledge the presence of God.
It will also be important to develop a steadfast trust in divine providence, because fears and anxieties are the greatest enemies of inner silence. Even when you are not explicitly praying, enter the silence of spiritual reading and your own personal reflection. Don’t let the mass media think for you, but “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” through the grace of God (Rom. 12:2). All this requires much faith and discipline, but the inner “quiet place” you make for the Lord is well worth the effort.
Since God already abides in us, the holy silence does not have to be manufactured, only welcomed. Learn to listen; do not take God for granted. Then the Word, spoken in the awesome silence of eternity, will find a place in your heart.
