St. Silouan's Comment on Inner Silence

From the book, The Undistorted Image, the nothing so benefits from St. Silouan's thoughts on inner silence and prayer.

"I [Archimandrite Sofrony] once asked the Staretz, 'Doesn't being steward and having to live among so many people make inner silence difficult?'

'What does inner silence mean?' he replied. 'It means ceaseless prayer, with the mind dwelling in God. Father John of Kronstadt was always surrounded by people, yet he was more with God than many solitaries.

'I became steward in an act of obedience blessed by the Abbot, so I pray better at my task than I prayed at Old Rossikon where I asked to go for the sake of inner silence. If the soul loves and pities the people, prayer is not interrupted.'"