Relationship of silent prayer and suffering?

Relationship of silent prayer and suffering?

A question has continually come up in my reflections: Is major life change only precipitated by suffering or trauma? Is there another way?

For several years the followers of Jesus who stand out to me – both contemporary and those that walked the earth in the past – had major life traumas which led to a deeper walk with God. My personal major life transitions where I turned to God were precipitated by times where my framing story was shattered and I had to re-construct a new paradigm of what life is all about. Is suffering the only way to experience the depths of despair which interrupts my view of life long enough for God, who has been pursuing me all along, to catch up with me?

Over the last year I have begun sensing that there might be a different way towards a deep relationship with God. Could silent, listening prayer create some space in my busy thoughts and life for God’s Spirit to begin working in the interior of my life? While it would not be as dramatic as a physical injury, divorce or financial crisis, the gradual change might be as effective in making me more like Jesus.

There is always the danger that I am looking for an alternative to the cross. If Jesus could have found another way besides the cross to break the barriers that separate us from God he would have done so. Yet, even in the quiet of silent prayer there is, in some sense, a dying to self to allow the Holy Spirit to work in my deepest being. There is the choice to sit and “do” nothing, to set aside my agenda, to listen for what God wants to say and not what I want Him to say. In all of these there is a setting aside (dying) of self and opening to God.

Further Thoughts
Perhaps transformation comes, not from strength, but from vulnerability. The tragedy that shatters our life’s framing story leaves us highly vulnerable. In that space so many find God. In much the same way the practices of silence, solitude and listening prayer remove the thoughts and ideas that we use to create structure in our lives. Once these are removed we step into that place of vulnerability where God’s grace is invited to work in the depths of our being.

What’s your understanding and experience of suffering vs silence?