Doesn't God know what we need?

So, our prayer, in its progress – what does it mean in its progress – in its exit, when the prayer is about to come out from within us, to truly become a movement towards God, we will see that it is a “silence within silence” within silence. That is, an absolute silence.

But doesn’t God listen to us in another way [than by shouting]? Or doesn’t God know what we need? How could he not! But God wants this, on the one hand, so that we express our longing for Him and so that it may be something of ours.

And secondly, so that we may become aware of our need and our emptiness. And thirdly, so that we may learn to ask. If God gave it to us immediately, before we did all these things that I have said, and before we lived them intensely, as easily as we gained it, we would throw it away, because we would not understand its true value. If your father gave you millions, you would throw them away on the right and left on the roads. But if you shed your sweat, so that in the end you only get fifty drachmas a day, with all your work, you will then see how you will save, and you will feel what money means. You will no longer waste it easily. Even so, so that we do not waste God to the wind, that is why God wants us to feel Him beforehand in this powerful agony of the cry that we bring out from the depths.

So, first: we live prayer as a struggle.

Secondly, as a cry from the depths that comes out in many ways, as I said before. But now, when we move forward and experience this turning of ours to God as a cry from the depths, we will find that our cry, in the end, is not heard by God. This cry must change, return to an inner silence, to an atmosphere of silence.

God is the God of those who are quiet and of those who have acquired silence. And we will feel this then, after we have cried out to God. No matter how much we talk about silence, we will not understand its significance and its meaning if we do not go through these successive steps. Why? What does what we are saying now again mean: “silence”. What kind of thing is this? When you shout, you do not hear the other; you have to stop to hear him. Or when there is noise around you, your voice gets mixed up among others and is no longer heard, no longer distinguished. Everyone must stop, you must stop too, to listen to the other, and if they are talking, you will first say to them “ssst! ssst!” and only then will you speak, so that your voice can be distinguished. We will also experience this experience and this reality in the return of our soul to God.

Therefore, our prayer, in its progress – what does it mean in its progress – in its exit, when the prayer is about to come out of us, to truly become a movement towards God, we will see that it is a “silence within silence” within silence. That is, an absolute silence. Therefore, either I will have to know and learn – and it is absolutely necessary to learn and know – to pray in noise, because it is impossible to achieve absolute silence, or I will have to hunt and immediately I will have to hunt absolute silence for prayer, as much as possible. But even the chirping of birds and the murmur of the river or stream that passes by us, even the gust of wind interrupts your prayer and overtakes your word that comes out. But if you do not know this[1], you do nothing. We will have to learn to pray in absolute silence as well. Hence, the great significance of the night – a reason for the great significance of the night! I will pray in noise, but at the same time, I will also hunt for absolute silence, so that I can speak to God. God responds especially to those who are silent in a quiet place. To silence, therefore, silence.