Prayer Without Words

“Be still, and know that I am God!

 Psalm 46:10 (New Revised Standard Version)

I have been married for nearly 38 years. Throughout each of those years, I have found every moment with my wife to be extraordinary, even when we have nothing to say to one another.  Walking quietly, holding hands, or traveling together on a Sunday drive, words are not necessary. I am with the love of my life, and that transforms every moment into an extraordinary moment. Just yesterday evening, Grace and I enjoyed dinner at my favorite restaurant, Houston’s. During a large portion of the meal, we did not speak. We both were taking delight in being in a beautiful restaurant, enjoying one of our favorite meals, and simply looking at one another. It was enough. Words were not necessary. Grace and I were together—alone. As I look back over our 38 years together, I am aware that each of those quiet moments together nurtured our relationship perhaps more deeply than conversation.

A common obstacle to prayer is that too much importance is placed upon speaking. Prayers of intercession for others, prayers of gratitude for blessings experienced, or prayers for our own needs are encouraged in the Bible. Each of them flows from the lips of the disciples. Each flows from the lips of our Lord, Jesus. Yet, pay attention to the teaching of Luke 6:12, “Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God” (NRSV). It is difficult to believe that all that time in prayer was filled with Jesus speaking. Prayer also involves listening; listening to God through hunches, nudges, and insight. People who are unpracticed in prayer often believe that no prayer is being offered unless they are speaking all the time. They miss the value of quietly listening to God or enjoying moments of God’s presence as I quietly enjoy my wife’s presence.   

During my college studies in Coventry, England, I asked one of my instructors, a clergy of Coventry Cathedral, about his practice of prayer. He shared that each morning, he would spend approximately one hour in prayer. He would read a story from one of the gospels and then sit with that story—sit with the story, listening to what God may be sharing with him that day through that story. It would be a wordless prayer. It is through this practice of prayer that he credits his strongest growth as a disciple. On another occasion, I asked a businessman about his daily practice of prayer. He worked in Manhattan, so he would enjoy a quick sandwich at lunch break and then go into one of the large churches in the city and fix his gaze upon a stained-glass window. For thirty minutes, he would sit silently, his attention focused on one portion of the window, listening for God to speak to him.

Silence before God presents an opportunity to get a new perspective on things. When grief, disappointment, or fear rob us of words, silence before God becomes the most powerful prayer. Our devotion is not dependent upon words. Often, when I experience the need to pray and words fail to show up, I will ask the Holy Spirit to search my heart and make a prayer on my behalf. It is then that I am confident that an articulate prayer is received by God. Psalm 46 is a specific call to Israel to desist from busy activity that seeks to protect them from an enemy. It is a call to attend to God’s presence in silence. It is then that Israel becomes aware, once again, of God’s presence that looms over them. It is an awareness that cannot be known when our mouths or hands are occupied. Simply sitting in the presence of a God who knows our hearts and loves us will be enough.

Joy,