Have you ever tried to sit there in silence, listening to God? Some of us may have the patience to sit there for several minutes, but many of us get uncomfortable after 30 seconds or less.
It can even be tempting to think that God isn't there at all, as we think that he isn't responding to our prayers. We may think to ourselves that if God doesn't audibly respond to us, that he isn't really there.
This type of thinking can lead us down a dark path, as we may be tempted to give up prayer, or to even doubt God's existence.
Yet, the Church' tradition teaches us that we need to learn to accept God's silence, resting in his divine presence.
God's silence
Pope Benedict XVI commented on this aspect of prayer in a general audience in 2012, recalling the tendency to doubt God's presence in silent prayer:
[I]t is not only our silence that disposes us to listen to the word of God; in our prayers we often find we are confronted by God’s silence, we feel, as it were, let down, it seems to us that God neither listens nor responds. Yet God’s silence, as happened to Jesus, does not indicate his absence. Christians know well that the Lord is present and listens, even in the darkness of pain, rejection and loneliness.
Sometimes what we truly need is not God's formulaic answers, but simply his presence. It is similar to how often a married couple will sit with each other and not say a word. Being with each other is sufficient and can even provide some healing in the relationship.
This can happen in a similar way in our relationship with God. We may need to learn how to simply "be" with God and to recognize his presence.
Pope Benedict XVI explains, "an attentive, silent and open heart is more important than many words. God knows us in our inmost depths, better than we ourselves, and loves us; and knowing this must suffice."
He then adds, "St Francis Xavier prayed to the Lord saying: I do not love you because you can give me paradise or condemn me to hell, but because you are my God. I love you because You are You."
This type of prayer can be difficult, especially if we were brought up thinking that prayer had to involve a variety of formula prayers.
What we need to do at some point in our lives is to simply recognize God's presence in the silence and to be content with resting in his love that he constantly pours out to us.
