"In these days of cell phones, iPods, and other media noise, the human soul cries out."
Want the key to encountering God? Try encountering yourself. The door that opens both of these is unlocked by silence. This discipline brings us face to face with God and he brings us face to face with the realities of life that we most want to avoid. We know that even King David struggled with silence because he wrote, “But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased.” (Psalm 39:2) We too must face into the silence if we want to become more like Jesus.
Silence means silence. This practice teaches us to be quiet in body, mind, and spirit. In these days of cell phones, iPods, and other media noise, the human soul cries out. It inaudibly screams for the peace that only silence can give. So we must leave behind all the sound we use to fill the void. 
Only silence can strip us of the noise that mutes the interior voice of the soul. Only silence restores to us the still small voice of God. Many of us will experience the unpleasantness of withdrawal from our addiction to noise. Even so, we’re called to press on and meet Jesus on his terms.
The discipline of silence also teaches us when to speak and when to say nothing. A quiet mind is quick to listen and slow to reply. The deliberate pace of silence allows us to be present in the here and now with people and situations around us. A quiet mind focuses on Christ in the circumstances of everyday life.
God himself calls for times of silence so he can be attentive to the prayers of his faithful ones on earth. An angel pours coals onto the earth from a heavenly altar to stir up the prayers of the saints. And God hears the response like peals of thunder because the silence in heaven is so great and the prayers of his holy ones rumble through the cosmos.
Early Christians understood the value of silence as a discipline. Palladius (368-431) was a monk living at the Mount of Olives . He wrote, “If a person lives in the peace and quietness of the desert, they are able to see God clearly.” There are few places more silent than the desert. The kind of silence that Palladius understood gives us the voice of God in high definition reception.
Even in our modern age, we still need silence to be attentive to God’s movement in our lives. Thankfully, we don’t have to live in the desert. All we really need is a quiet place, quiet lips, and a quiet mind to practice this discipline. As we come to terms with silence and our struggles cease, we enter into the peace that only Jesus can give. So take time to experience the discipline of silence.
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