While I am still working on mastering two languages, and between Neal and I we now have over 8 languages we've learned to various levels of skill, one language is even more important:
Silence.
Silence is God's first language;
everything else is a poor translation.
In order to hear that language,
we must learn to be still
and to rest in God.
Thomas Keating
Sometimes it feels like God is silent. It sure can feel that way.
His apparent silence is our noise drowning out His still, small voice.
Silence gently draws us to our depth.
By letting go of our many words,
we are drawn
we are drawn
to that one Word made flesh,
that Word that gives life and power
to all of our spoken words.
Betty J Skinner
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.
Habakkuk 2:20
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
Exodus 14:14
For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
Isaiah 30:5
The Holy Fathers taught: (Philokalia Vol 2 p 387)
Deep inner silence goes far beyond a lack of noise and freedom from speaking. Instead, the entire inner life remains in a state of inner tranquility, mental quietness, and concentration, deepened by the practice of constant prayer and guarding the heart and mind.
It is not simply silence, but an attitude of listening to God and of continual openness towards Him.
The path to this inner reality requires constant diligence and return, until we are able to maintain it. It may take years of practice and failure, but it is possible.
