Day 9

" Do not babble on . . . do not use many words ," Jesus teaches. We must, then, after we have offered our " few words ," become attentively silent in an attitude of open, active receptivity. If we are not to " babble on ," then we are clearly counselled to be silent during the time remaining us. This is how the Fathers of the Desert understood the counsel of Christ. They called this wordless, imageless prayer " pure prayer ," or " prayer of the heart ."

When we go beyond the literal sense of the Gospel and search its mystical or hidden meaning, we see that when Jesus counsels us to " pray in secret ," he intends more than simply isolating ourselves physically from observation and intrusion (bolting the door).

What it means to shut the door is the Lord inviting us to a deeper; " pure prayer ” that is existentially secret— secret not just to others but secret to ourselves. In this silent, wordless, formless prayer " we do not know how to pray as we ought " (Rom 8:26). The " content " of our prayer is concealed from our understanding and our investigating mind. Having now " shut the door " of our mind against words and images, the Spirit is free to pray in us, which the Spirit will do if we allow her. This hidden prayer of the Spirit is impregnated with praise and thanksgiving, which is considered the highest form of prayer.

The Advocate that Jesus promised to send to help us pleads for us before the Father with " sighs too deep for words ," praying in us " according to the mind of God " (Rom 8:26). So the easiest way to reach the Divine light is through wordless, imageless prayer.

The word " advocate " derives from the Greek judicial vocabulary, akin to " attorney " or "public defender." The Advocate, the Holy Spirit , " pleads our case " before the tribunal of God.

At the same time, the Advocate will " teach us all things " (Jn 14:26) and teach us more in a few moments of silent, wordless prayer than in months, perhaps years, of discursive meditation and prayer.

To be silent and receptive before God is to be gradually awakened to a new and profound knowledge — to experience the loving knowledge of God in our hearts , the birthing and dilation of the Son who " increases in wisdom and stature and favor with God " (Lk 2:52).

To know another person is to experience the reality of that person in our heart. In the religious experience, it is called " contemplation ." To deeply know another person, we must be silent and open to that person's presence. To experience God, we must do likewise.

Be still —and know that I am God .— Psalm 46:10

The present of the world and all of life is diseased. If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I should reply: Create silence! Bring men to silence. The Word of God cannot be heard in the noisy world of today. And even if it were blazoned forth with all the panoply of noise so that it could be heard in the midst of all other noise, then it would no longer be the Word of God.

 Everyone who delights in a multitude of words, even though he says admirable things, is empty within; If you want to grow spiritually - then become a lover of silence and that will unite you to God Himself. Love silence above everything else, for it brings a fruit the tongue is too feeble to describe.

I know we are talkatives- especially when it comes to prayer, so at first we must force ourselves to be silent, but then out of our silence is born something that draws us into silence. May God grant you to perceive that which is born of silence. If only you practice this, untold LIGHT and breakthrough will dawn on you in consequence.

" Nothing is so like God as silence ," We modern people feel silence has no value because it serves no utilitarian. function for us to see. We feel silence won't make anyone rich or successful, we feel it cannot be exploited for profit; so we regard silence as " unproductive ." Therefore, it is regarded as valueless.

Yet there is more help and healing in silence than in all useful things. Observe life, you will see that the most valuable and important things happen in silence. When a woman gets pregnant, the child grows in silence. Serious meetings, cabinet meetings happen behind close doors in silence away from us. When you have a loved one who has to go through surgery. You can only get a point and go no further, doors are shut and you stay behind while the surgery goes on in silence.

Silence makes things whole again by taking them back from the world of dissipation into the world of wholeness. The mark of the Divine in things is preserved by their connection with the world of silence.

To " pray in the Spirit " is not the same as " Prayer of the Spirit " in the sense spoken of here.

We can pray In the Spirit with words, song, and dance,-and in tongues.

Prayer of the Spirit is silent, secret (to ourselves), and wholly perfect and pleasing to the Father, " being of the mind of God ." When we are struck dumb and do not know how to pray, when, like Job our tongue cleaves to the roof of our mouth, the Spirit will pray in us if we open ourselves in simple silent trusting faith .

In order to enter into the holy and mysterious communion with the Word of God dwelling within us, we must first have the courage to become more and more silent. In a deep creative silence we meet God in a way that transcends all the powers of intellect and language. We know God is intimately with us and is infinitely beyond us. It is only through deep and liberating silence that we can reconcile the polarities of this mysterious paradox.

I agree that there are certain types of intuitive, reflective people who are naturally and easily disposed simply to " be " in SILENCE , who would find praying with words and images difficult and uncomfortable. For such people, discursive prayer can become an obstacle.

Today there is a reaction against discursive prayer. Yet, this is a good solid form of prayer. Many people have begun with discursive prayer and ended up consummate mystics.

As far as the path to growth on the spiritual plane is concerned — we begin with discursive prayer and then move to silence- infused contemplation —

I believe all people who want to grow and mature spiritually must partake in silent mystical prayer, and when you follow this path you become true to yourselves.

Our God is a silent, God who is not interested in the appearances of words and images (which can be called " spiritual materialism ") but who looks hard at our heart, the deepest depth of our true inner self:

God does not see as man sees. Man sees only appearances, but God looks into the heart . —1 Samuel 16:7

Prayer is not a part-time occupation for Christians. To live in the presence of God should be as natural for a Christian as to breathe the air that surrounds us; it is the spontaneous expression of our love of the Lord when we know that we are a child of God.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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