The Sound of Silence

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Psalm 46:10

Years ago, when I entered the discernment process for the priesthood, the diocese required me to take part in a silent retreat. I had never participated in a silent retreat, and to be honest, I was a bit skeptical. I like to talk. And so, you can imagine the frustration I felt when I was told that attendees were not allowed to talk following our dinner on the first night of the retreat. The idea was for each of us to go back to our cabin and to sit in quietude and remain that way until we gathered the next morning for Morning Prayer, the first words uttered being “O Lord, open thou our lips” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 42).

When I got back to my room, I wrestled with what to do. I didn’t have a phone or access to the internet to occupy my attention. I had only a Bible, a modest but comfortable chair, and a long stretch of time. So, I just sat there by myself for the entire evening. To occupy my time, I took up my Bible and read through one of Paul’s letters. Afterward, I did some journaling. But mostly I just sat there, thinking. Then I went to bed.

When I awoke the next morning, I sprang out of my bed refreshed and with a renewed sense of well-being. Overnight, I had one of the best nights of sleep in years. Even before my first cup of coffee, I felt invigorated—the way a five-year-old feels on Christmas morning. Something amazing happened. The silence of the previous 12 hours had been life-giving.

Quietude like this is a lost art. And the reasons are obvious. The typical daily routine of our lives is filled with noise and an endless list of obligations. Even when it’s time to unwind at the end of a long day, it’s not uncommon to spend our time distracting ourselves by digesting various forms of media, whether it’s scrolling through Instagram feeds, watching YouTube shorts, or watching television.

This is where the practice of Christian quietude offers a helpful corrective. Perhaps the most exemplary instruction comes from Jesus Himself. Not in what He says, but what He does. Luke tells us that He spent an entire evening on a mountainside praying (Luke 6:12). Jesus made a habit of spending time alone, in quietude and prayer.

Along these lines, I love the advice Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers: “We are silent at the beginning of the day because God should have the first word, and we are silent before going to sleep because God also has the last word.”^[1] Christian quietude, then, is not simply an escape from the noise of modern life, but a reordering of our attention. It’s saying no to the world’s demands to make room for the voice of God.

[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together.