Listening to Our Longing
There are few things that help so much for conversing with Christ as silence. The silence I speak of is, obviously, the inner silence of the heart without which the voice of Christ will simply not be heard. This inner silence is very hard to achieve for most of us: close your eyes for a moment and observe what’s going on within you. The chances are you will be submerged in a sea of thoughts that you are powerless to stop-talk, talk, talk (for that is what thinking generally is, me talking to myself) noise, noise, noise: my own inner voice competing with the remembered voices and images of others, all clamouring for my attention. What chances does the subtle voice of God stand in all this din and bustle? Your tolerance of silence is a fairly good indicator of your spiritual (and even intellectual and emotional) depth.
—Wendy Miller,
Learning to Listen
We often long to hear from God, to feel close to Christ, especially in seasons of struggle or searching. But as Anthony de Mello points out, it’s not God who is absent—it’s we who are too crowded inside. Even when the world around us quiets down, our inner world keeps chattering. Thoughts tumble over one another. Memories, worries, criticisms, and to-do lists fight for space. And in that inner storm, the gentle voice of Christ can be drowned out, not because He isn’t speaking, but because we haven’t learned to be still.
Inner silence is not about emptying ourselves—it’s about making space. It’s about noticing the noise and slowly learning not to obey it. In treatment, silence can be uncomfortable at first, because we start to hear what’s really going on in our hearts. But that’s also where healing begins. If you want to converse with Christ—if you truly want to hear Him—begin by creating a quiet center. Start small. Sit still. Breathe deeply. Invite Him to meet you there. And trust that the quieter you become, the more clearly you’ll hear the One who’s been speaking all along. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics