Word Prayer in Silence
Words spoken in prayer while we are in ordinary consciousness are linear, perhaps emotion-filled. These same words spoken while we are within Silence reverberate and resound, their resonance spreading out within the infinity of intimate silence.
Praying can be mechanical when we thoughtlessly say words . . . Praying becomes a miraculous experience when we are able to be within the reverberating field rather than when we focus only on the prayer words we are saying.
Praying in this way is, however, also an act of sacrifice. We have to relinquish for a time our usual capacities and capabilities to undergo a kind of transubstantiation of our being. We relinquish our usual powers of sensing and knowing and acting. This element of sacrifice is crucial, for otherwise we are engaging in an act that is ultimately self-centred. . .
We still do pray for help and for others. . . It is like coming to a place of utter desperation. It is the moment of sacrifice, which is something suffered rather than actively sought. At that very moment, within the currents of Silence, I feel blanketed in comfort. My body relaxes and I receive the knowledge that the person whom I pray for is also blanketed in comfort. . .
The comfort that appears when we pray within Silence is a powerful force. We feel held by a completely loving and understanding presence, which has the power of removing all fear and anguish. . . When praying ceases, we may still feel fear, but it no longer dominates and has no power over us. In fact, we feel joy, even though we still have the difficulty and the person we pray for may still be in danger, hurting, or in pain. This joy is not an emotion but the very nature of the comforting community of prayer. No matter how difficult things are, this sense of the power of comfort persists.