The Divine Pause: How Silence Transforms Prayer and Presence
What happens when we stop talking and start listening to grace.
One of the most frustrating things when I talk to my mother is her habit of constantly talking over me—especially when I’m trying to answer her question. She’ll ask for advice or information, and as soon as I open my mouth to give her a simple answer, she keeps up her running commentary.
While she’s talking, I know she isn’t listening. It’s as if she needs to verbalize every thought that crosses her mind.
“Can you stop talking?” I’ll say. “I’m trying to give you an answer.”
But here’s the hard truth: I’m guilty of the same thing.
The Sky Speaks—If We Stop Talking
This morning, as I let my dogs out, I noticed a sliver of moon peeking through the clouds. The sky was a masterpiece of soft light and color. For a moment, I stood in awe.
Then came the chatter:
Wow, that’s so beautiful. Who could have painted something so glorious? Look at that cloud! Look at the light in the east! Wow, wow, wow!
And then, from somewhere deeper:
Can you stop talking? I’m trying to give you a blessing.
Why Silence Matters in Prayer
As part of my Catholic heritage, I’ve been given a treasury of prayers for nearly every situation. And if you can’t find the “right” one, there’s always the Our Father or the Hail Mary.
But here’s the question that keeps tugging at me:
Do we ever stop talking long enough to let God respond?
It’s not much of a conversation if we do all the talking, is it?
We’ve all had friends who dominate conversations, who insist on being the center of attention. Sometimes, in prayer, that friend is us.
What Contemplatives Call the Divine Pause
Contemplatives speak of what I’ve come to love calling the Divine Pause—that gap, that breath, that hush before words rush in. It’s the moment when awe strikes and we want to narrate, interpret, comment—but instead, we stay still.
The pause is the space where God speaks. Not in noise, not in chatter, but in quiet.
This isn’t easy. Ask anyone who meditates how hard it is at first to remain silent. The mind wriggles like a restless child.
But here’s the good news:
It doesn’t have to be long.
Even a single second of waiting, of not filling the air with your words or thoughts, can be enough. It’s an inner bow, a way of saying:
I’m listening.
Sometimes the most honest prayer is a sigh.
How to Practice the Pause in Everyday Life
Every moment is an invitation to wake up to God’s presence. Life will always pull at us with emergencies and endless tasks. That’s understandable. But every so often, something—maybe a sunrise, maybe a quiet breath—shakes us awake.
In that pause, you don’t evaluate. You don’t narrate. You simply receive. And in that receiving, you remember:
God is here. God has not forgotten you.
The Divine Pause becomes its own kind of prayer—not because you planned it, but because you surrendered to it. And that surrender changes you.
Over time, you notice these pauses appearing throughout your day, like little doorways into stillness. They teach you what Paul meant when he urged us to “pray without ceasing.”
In that space, you stop trying to control everything. You take your hands off the potter’s wheel and let God shape the clay of your life.
Contemplative Prayer in Practice: Start Small
So yes, I still have work to do with my mother. I may not be able to make her pause and listen. But maybe I can pause before I bite her head off.
And maybe that’s the whole point: contemplation isn’t about staging a perfect moment with candles and cushions. It’s about readiness. About letting our hearts open to God for even one breath.
One practice I love is Lectio Divina—a slow, meditative way of reading Scripture. There’s a formal method, but you can also keep it simple. I’ve recorded some sessions on my Insight Timer channel if you want to explore.
Try This Today: A 30-Second Sky Meditation
Take 30 seconds. Watch the beauty of the sky in the video below. When your mind starts commenting, restart. Let the colors and silence wash over you.
See if you can experience the pause.
Then look for it tomorrow. And the day after that.
Because the Divine Pause? That’s where God is waiting.
What about you?
What helps you pause during your day? Do you have a practice that helps you step into silence? I’d love to hear in the comments.