Yesterday’s entrance into silence and solitude were presented for prayerful consideration because the usual summer schedule usual lends itself to some relaxed time. As for Jesus and ourselves, the journey into silence can be frightening because we know we have to surrender control for a short time. Prayer in silence is a challenge because we have to acknowledge that God is the initiator in the spiritual life. His is the invitation to sit quietly, waiting and listening.

Isn’t there a genuine fear that we are not suitable, not fit for God that underlies some of the challenge of silently waiting to "hear" God in prayer? Don’t we back away because for whatever reason we are afraid God might not become involved with us? Perhaps, for some, there is a genuine lack of trust in God. What I desire might not become a reality. When we can come before God with trust, we are springing from the diving board. We allow ourselves a true free fall. When we trust, God will be with us in silence and solitude. We will there find the experience of genuine intimacy.

In those moments of intimacy with God, we stand before the true object of all our desires. And, as well, we stand in total vulnerability. We are willing to allow God the right to direct us where he wants to lead us. Here we encounter the greatest challenge of prayer and the spiritual life. It is as if we spring from the diving board and remain in suspended animation, as if we are like a kicked football with an extraordinary amount "hang time." The fears we might have, the demons that surface in our hearts and minds, accomplish a remarkable transformative power. Seeing these fears which can overcome us, also can assure us that we are soon to discover, as never before, something truer or stronger than our fears: the yearning in our hearts for genuine intimacy with God.