The discipline of silence or contemplative prayer is one step toward evicting the noise and embracing its opposite. But what is contemplative prayer? I’ve found that many Christians have fears or flawed understandings about it. Three things silence is not:
First, silence is not a relaxation exercise.[i] The primary purpose of incorporating regular silence into our walk with God is not to depress blood pressure or decrease work, home, or school pressures. Without a doubt, your mind and body will feel more relaxed as a result of this discipline. But these are side benefits, not principal reasons for practicing silence. Our spiritual health, not merely our physical or emotional health, drives us to silence.
Second, silence is not a supernatural event in which God appears visibly or speaks audibly.[ii] God could manifest himself in this way. But this is not the norm. Of the millions of who have practiced silence, experiences like these are the exception. A few in the pages of the Bible or the annals of history were granted such encounters. Most were not.
Third, silence is not an attempt to empty the mind. Emptying the mind is the purpose of Eastern meditation. But filling the mind is the purpose Christian meditation.[iii] We empty our setting of noise so that we might fill our spirit with Christ.
What, then, is silence? It is a means of resting in God and receiving from God. The primary gift received is the presence of God. The silence clears away all distractions so that we can be fully present to the one who is always present. But, at times, we may also receive a word from God or some guidance from God.
The Greek Church Fathers used the word “theoria” to describe an experiential knowledge of God. There’s head knowledge of God. Then there’s heart knowledge. There’s knowing about God. And there’s knowing God. This is “theoria.” The word “theoria” was eventually translated into Latin. This Latin word gave us the English word “contemplation.” [iv] Thus, contemplative prayer, or silence, is a way to gain experiential knowledge of God. Silence transforms our head knowledge about God to heart knowledge of God. It’s the difference between a wife reading a letter from her husband and the wife resting quietly and contentedly in her husband’s arms.
A couple of additional images may help. First, imagine a car with an engine and a radio. We often hear the radio but we rarely perceive the engine. In fact, the only time we notice the sound of the engine is when something goes wrong. The radio signifies all the urgent things which tend to capture our attention. The engine signifies God, who frequently goes unnoticed. Silence turns down the noise of the world (the radio) so we may attend to the voice and presence of God (the engine).[v]
Second, imagine a river flowing with water. On top of the water are boats and debris (tree branches, litter, etc.). We tend to focus on the boats and debris. We don’t pay much attention to the water itself. The boats and debris signify all the urgent things screaming for our attention. The water signifies God who frequently does not get our attention. Silence moves the eyes of our soul off the floating objects to the water underneath.[vi]
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[i] Thomas Keating Open Mind Open Heart (Continuum, 1992).
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline Revised Edition (Harper & Row, 1988), 20.
[iv] Keating.
[v] Mark Thibodeaux Armchair Mystic (Saint Anthony Messenger Press, 2001.
[vi] Keating.
