For me, silent prayer is only ever the first step. It is an essential act of preparation. The second step is taking our experience in that silence of the Living Presence of God into our active life. If our actions and words do not come from the right place, they are worse than useless.
“The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. All our words will be useless unless they come from within. Words which do not give the Light of Christ increase the darkness.”
Mother Theresa of Calcutta