Toward Finding Quietness and Stillness in Our Souls

Posted On June 5, 2022

Our world today is inundated with noise, confusion, disturbance, fear, conflicts, rudeness, selfishness, ungratefulness, ………. . While many of these conditions exist in the physical, visible realm, many others wander unseen and silently within our minds and souls. Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke (way of life) upon you and learn from Me…and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11: 28,29).

The Holy Scriptures and teaching of the Holy Fathers of the Church call us to pursue a life leading to a nearness and communion with God Himself. A major element in that pursuit is prayer – prayer that springs from our heart and ascends to the throne of God. The prayer of the heart is not composed, offered in words, but in silence, stillness, and peace.

St. Gregory Palamas, most notably among the Fathers, encouraged the practice of hesychasm (quietness, stillness) as a means of drawing near to God. His teaching was originally directed to monastics, but it later became clear that it could be effective for all Christians – in his day and in ours.

With fear and trembling, the following thoughts are offered as some practical ways of developing prayer of the heart in our daily lives. Please keep in mind that these are not in any linear order nor order of importance:

1. Keep your life simple.  Do not commit yourself to so many things that you cannot get everything done. We all have certain responsibilities, but we add others that are unnecessary for our peace and salvation. So, keep it as simple as possible.

2. Maintain an order to your life. Have a time for work, for play and a time to pray and meditate on God. Be sure you don’t give God the leftovers; don’t give place to God only when there’s nothing else to do. Schedule your life in tune with the schedule of the Church. Make your time with God a significant part of your daily life.

3. Get your work done; fulfill your obligations. St. Paul said, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23) When your work is done and you come to God in prayer, your mind will not be cluttered and distracted.

4. Surround yourself with good things. Make sure the things around you, which you see and hear each day, make for peace. Do they tend to agitate? Do they arouse or inflame the passions? Do they give witness to God and to the quietness and stillness of your soul? Look around your home and replace those sights and sounds that distract you from God with those which inspire you to draw near to Him.

5. Be at peace with those around you. St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18}. Grudges, strife and conflict with others in our lives will carry over into our times of prayer, bringing agitation and disturbance to our souls. Try to be reconciled with those at odds with you. If there is someone you just cannot be right with, you don’t need to be around them. Politely avoid interaction with those persons and both of you will have more peace.

6. Avoid excess in your life. One of the Church Fathers said, “Don’t ever get too happy and don’t ever get too sad”. In anything we do, always try to act without gluttony, greed or going overboard. Strive to maintain moderation in everything you do. Try to keep your joy or sorrow in some control. Guard your entertainment to avoid agitation or anger that tend to feed our excesses.

7. Read the Holy scriptures daily. The psalmist wrote, “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). God has given us His Word to penetrate our soul and we ought to read it, think about it and meditate on it. Do not let a day go by without reading some portion of the Bible. God’s Word is “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10).

8. Relieve yourself of guilt. Guilt is one of the most disturbing and distracting of the passions that come upon us. Those things we have done wrong, or wrongs that have been done to us, tend to linger in our souls and provoke turbulence, sometimes without our being aware of it. God has given us the privilege of Confession to heal the wounds of guilt. We can then put these things behind us and go on to find quietness in our souls.

9. Pray the Jesus Prayer. When we pray the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”, we acknowledge the deity of our Lord, the incarnation of Jesus Christ in the flesh, and our need for His merciful healing in our sinful souls. As this blessed prayer becomes entwined in our minds and hearts, we will find rest for our souls.

“Be still and know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10

Grace and peace be with you,

Fr. Andrew