Unspoken Prayer

[savedfromdistruction]

In today's church there has risen a practice by some that is both non biblical as well as disrespectful to the Lord. That practice is to pray unspoken prayers. Unspoken prayer requests are simply not biblical. They go against what scripture teaches as how we are to pray. No one in the bible ever prayed such prayers. One reason is that NO ONE can pray in faith while praying an unspoken prayer. If we do not know what we are asking we pray as those who tempt God with meaningless words without understanding. It would be like a child who goes to their parent and says the following. "Father just say yes to my request. The father says what is your request? The child again says just say yes." No wise father would say yes and neither does God.
The same is when we seek God with prayers without knowledge. We seek Him in vain and we sin. Yes He knows all, but we are also responsible to approach our Lord in understanding and respect and in the manner given by example in scripture. And let's be honest here. We may be asking for something sinful for someone else. The fact that we may be a friend to the person and trust that person does not justify going against the way that the Lord has commanded us to pray. The bible strongly warns against doing things our way. Psalm 81:12, EZE. 13:2,
May we not become like those of old who fell to condemnation of doing our own will instead of that of God. True faith praying needs to understand what we ask so we can say the Amen. There is a scripture that shows it to be wrong to say amen to that which we know not what we are say the amen to. It is in 1 Corinthians 14;
Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
While this is dealing directly with tongues it also has application to praying without understanding as well as saying amen to something that we have not understood. Saying amen is an acknowledgement that what has just been prayed is of God and God's will. It is putting our relationship on the line with God saying that I agree with this and God should do this. Prayer is a serious thing and should be done with a great deal of concern and respect. Unspoken prayers violates any model given in scripture and so violates God's will for prayer.
So what should we do if someone asks us to pray an unknown prayer? If we love the Lord and love the person we should lovingly tell them that we cannot pray in faith without understanding what we are seeking God to do. If the request is too personal to share then they should find someone who they trust enough to share it with so that they can pray in faith. That does not mean that every detail needs to be shared. If someone needs healing say that. if someone needs saved say that. if someone needs to be set free from addiction say that and so on. There is no need to say that the person is a homosexual needing saved, or that the person has aids and needs healed or other details. We only need to have an understanding of the basic need. Again there is no need for exact details, but we do need too understand what the request is about so we can pray in faith. No one can pray in faith and not know what they are asking, NO ONE! It is impossible and we are commanded to pray in faith. To do anything less we sin and dishonor the Lord.
Now someone might bring up Romans 8:26 which reads;
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
However this passage is not suggesting that we pray without knowing what we are asking for. It is saying that even though we know what we are seeking we do not know how to properly approach God. The word that is translated "ought" is the Greek word dā and it means; "it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper." In other words the manner we seek God is not totally understood. We simply do not know how to properly approach God in respect and honor. So the Spirit intercedes for us. However we are never to seek Him with prayers that we do not know what we are asking.
Now someone might say that God does answer unspoken prayers. Not so. What has happened is that God answered the prayer of someone else who actually asked knowing what they were asking. Those who pray without knowing simply dishonored the Lord and do no good at all, but actually are in sin. So let us pray biblically as well as honorably before our Lord doing so in faith. If we will do this we will help hinder the efforts of darkness from dishonoring our Lord and in doing so find that we are really part of God's answered prayer. God bless

 

[MsScarlett]

I took that to mean unspoken in the congregation, not unspoken to the Lord.

 

[Tavita]

What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Does that mean we speak out loud to the Lord in a constant chatter all day? There are different types of prayers mentioned in the Bible. In the OT we many times see how people talked with God... does it ever say specifically that they spoke out loud to Him? When I say the Lord spoke to me, you know it's not audible, I hear Him within, and I can talk to Him within too. Of course all prayer can be spoken out loud too... depends on how the Lord leads.

btw... I had a conversation with the Lord one day, in which I never said a word out loud, and it was prayer bathed in faith.. He asked me if I wanted my house sold, for how much, when... and when I answered Him (internally) He sold that house for me in the time frame and for the exact amount I asked for. Also.. no-one was buying and selling in that little outback town in a drought area at that time... He sold it in the two days I asked for... He placed the faith in me to ask... and it was all done silently.

 

[Archivist]

I don't have an issue with unspoken prayer requests, beacsue God knows and understands why the prayer is being offered, even if the person doing the praying does not know.

The pastor of a congregation does not have to say "Please pray for Mrs. Smith this week because she is having serious mental problems." I assume that Mrs. Smith and her family would probably prefer that the congregation does not know that she is having such problems. It is enough for the pastor to simply ask the congregation to "Please keep Mrs. Smith and her family in your prayers." God knows why the prayers are being offered. That is sufficient.

 

[FaithLikeARock]

Spoken prayer is fine and dandy.

But everything is spoken to God, every thought, every fantasy, everything. So just because YOU can't hear it, doesn't mean it's unspoken to God.

 

[savedfromdistruction]

Spoken prayer is fine and dandy.

But everything is spoken to God, every thought, every fantasy, everything. So just because YOU can't hear it, doesn't mean it's unspoken to God.

You need to read the article again.

 

[savedfromdistruction]

I don't have an issue with unspoken prayer requests, beacsue God knows and understands why the prayer is being offered, even if the person doing the praying does not know.

The pastor of a congregation does not have to say "Please pray for Mrs. Smith this week because she is having serious mental problems." I assume that Mrs. Smith and her family would probably prefer that the congregation does not know that she is having such problems. It is enough for the pastor to simply ask the congregation to "Please keep Mrs. Smith and her family in your prayers." God knows why the prayers are being offered. That is sufficient.

what matters is that God has a problem with them since they violate His word.

 

[Archivist]

what matters is that God has a problem with them since they violate His word.

But they don't violate His word, only your interpretation of it.

 

[Yekcidmij]

In today's church there has risen a practice by some that is both non biblical as well as disrespectful to the Lord. That practice is to pray unspoken prayers. Unspoken prayer requests are simply not biblical. They go against what scripture teaches as how we are to pray. No one in the bible ever prayed such prayers.

Oh? First, you haven't defined what an "unspoken prayer" is. It isn't a biblical term that I'm familiar with and since there was an assumption in your post that we all knew what it meant, I will assume first that it means "prayers not spoken vocally". But this doesn't seem to be true because I can pray silently. As a matter of fact:

Matt 6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues 7 and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, 8 close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 9 6:7 When 10 you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. 6:8 Do 11 not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 6:9 So pray this way:


So, I'm still not quite sure what your definition of "unspoken prayer" is.

One reason is that NO ONE can pray in faith while praying an unspoken prayer. If we do not know what we are asking we pray as those who tempt God with meaningless words without understanding. It would be like a child who goes to their parent and says the following. "Father just say yes to my request. The father says what is your request? The child again says just say yes." No wise father would say yes and neither does God.

Going off of my assumption that "unspoken prayer" is just a prayer not spoken vocally, it does not follow that if I don't speak it, I can't pray in faith. Jesus often prays alone and He taught us to do so in my above example. Of course maybe by "unspoken prayer" you mean a request (or praise) that we just can't think about. Well, doesn't the Bible tell us that He knows our inner most thoughts, needs, and desires? So if there is a request that is slipping my mind, I can faithfully ask Him to work His will for anything that I might not be thinking of at the moment.

The same is when we seek God with prayers without knowledge. We seek Him in vain and we sin. Yes He knows all, but we are also responsible to approach our Lord in understanding and respect and in the manner given by example in scripture. And let's be honest here. We may be asking for something sinful for someone else. The fact that we may be a friend to the person and trust that person does not justify going against the way that the Lord has commanded us to pray. The bible strongly warns against doing things our way. Psalm 81:12, EZE. 13:2,

What if we are asking for something sinful for someone else, but we don't know or realize it? Is it a sin? I don't see how "not knowing some particular request is a sin for someone else" is a sin for us. It's just ignorance on our part and we don't know any better; we aren't omniscient. God could simply say no to your prayer.

Your verses:
Psalm
81:11 But my people did not obey me; 18
Israel did not submit to me. 19
81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; 20
they did what seemed right to them. 21
81:13 If only my people would obey me! 22
If only Israel would keep my commands!

Ezekiel
13:1 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: 1 ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel.

These verses are pretaining to Israel's disobedience and false prophets. It doesn't really have anything to do with prayer.

True faith praying needs to understand what we ask so we can say the Amen.

Define "true faith praying". I can pray truely and faithfully without understanding much or anything at all. That was in fact the case when I first believed.

If the request is too personal to share then they should find someone who they trust enough to share it with so that they can pray in faith.

They can pray in faith without sharing or speaking anything. When has telling someone else besides God, or speaking verbally become a requirement for "praying in faith"?

No one can pray in faith and not know what they are asking, NO ONE! It is impossible and we are commanded to pray in faith. To do anything less we sin and dishonor the Lord.

Why does someone have to understand what they are asking in order to pray it? If I ask the Lord for Wisdom, do I have to understand wisdom in order to ask for it? How can I understand it if I don't have it to begin with? How can I understand what asking for wisdom really involves? And we are told to ask for wisdom.

Now someone might say that God does answer unspoken prayers. Not so. What has happened is that God answered the prayer of someone else who actually asked knowing what they were asking.

There are a few too many assumptions here. First, you presume to know what prayers God answers or doesn't answer. That is problematic enough. Second, you presume to know that someone else was actually praying for the same thing for the person and that prayer was the one actually answered. But how do you know that? Why couldn't God be answering the individual that doesn't have understanding? Why couldn't He be answering both?

Those who pray without knowing simply dishonored the Lord and do no good at all, but actually are in sin.

Remove the plank.

 

[Chajara]

Are you saying that if you don't speak out loud, God can't hear you? That's the impression I'm getting with the whole father/child request analogy.

I never, ever pray out loud. My prayers are deeply personal to me, and just because I don't move my muscles in a way that causes sound to come from my throat doesn't mean I have no faith or that I'm not really praying or that God can't hear me. In fact, God answers every single one of my prayers, if not by giving me my request then by showing me why it's a better idea if my request is denied. I can provide specific examples if you want me to.

And by the way, my prayers are really specific usually, so there is no way anyone else knows enough about what I'm going through at the time in order to ask for the specific things I ask for in my unspoken prayers. You're going to have to provide some serious scripture and reasoning if you're going to convince me otherwise.

 

[BrBob]

You know, the original post is so far off base that I can't even imagine trying to formulate a serious answer to it.

The assumption is about as far off as believing that the KJV is the only version of the Bible that is inspired of God. By the same logic, a person who is deaf and can't speak is incapable of prayer and therefore can't be saved because God can't hear his prayer!

Ludicrous!

Bob
Spearfish, SD

 

[dies-l]

The assumption is about as far off as believing that the KJV is the only version of the Bible that is inspired of God.

What are you talking about? The KJV is the only version of the Bible that is inspired by God. Heck, if it was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me!!! You didn't see Paul reading of that newfangled NIV, NASB, RSV, etc. garbage, do you?

Sorry, I hope this doesn't turn into a KJVO debate. I just couldn't resist.

 

[Rick Otto]

quote=savedfromdistruction; Unspoken prayer requests are simply not biblical.

You're guessing.

They go against what scripture teaches as how we are to pray.

No they don't.

No one in the bible ever prayed such prayers.

Is that what the Bible says or did you just make that up?

One reason is that NO ONE can pray in faith while praying an unspoken prayer.

You are guessing again.

If we do not know what we are asking we pray as those who tempt God with meaningless words without understanding.

You just changed the subject from unspoken prayer to ignorant prayer. Which is it you would like to pontificate on?

It would be like a child who goes to their parent and says the following. "Father just say yes to my request. The father says what is your request? The child again says just say yes." No wise father would say yes and neither does God.

It would be like starting a post on unspoken prayer & switching the subject to not knowing what we are asking in prayer.
BTW, do you only pray when you want to ask for something?

The same is when we seek God with prayers without knowledge. We seek Him in vain and we sin.

Sounds a bit gnostic.

Yes He knows all, but we are also responsible to approach our Lord in understanding and respect and in the manner given by example in scripture. And let's be honest here. We may be asking for something sinful for someone else.

Yeah, let's be honest. If the only time we pray is when we want to ask for something we have a bigger problem than how we pray. We have a problem with why we pray.

The fact that we may be a friend to the person and trust that person does not justify going against the way that the Lord has commanded us to pray. The bible strongly warns against doing things our way. Psalm 81:12, EZE. 13:2,

So if I'm hiding in a bush from killers & I need divine assistance, I have to speak up? Did you think about that?
What would Anne Frank do?

May we not become like those of old who fell to condemnation of doing our own will instead of that of God.

Or like those of old & new who think they know what their talking about but are realy rather silly.

True faith praying needs to understand what we ask so we can say the Amen.

I can understand a great deal without a word being uttered. I can at least understand what my own intentions are without speaking them aloud.

There is a scripture that shows it to be wrong to say amen to that which we know not what we are say the amen to. It is in 1 Corinthians 14;

Not knowing & not saying are two different things.

Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?

Make up your mind, not understanding or not speaking aloud.

While this is dealing directly with tongues it also has application to praying without understanding as well as saying amen to something that we have not understood. Saying amen is an acknowledgement that what has just been prayed is of God and God's will. It is putting our relationship on the line with God saying that I agree with this and God should do this. Prayer is a serious thing and should be done with a great deal of concern and respect. Unspoken prayers violates any model given in scripture and so violates God's will for prayer.

You seem unfamiliar with the prayer model that doesn't ask for anything. Allow me to enlarge your prayer horizons:
1Sa 2:1 - And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
Jer 32:16 - Show Context Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,...
...Click on "Show Context". You won't see a request of God in this prayer of Jeremiah. Surely there are more witnesses to this fact than Nehemiah & Jeremiah, but two witnesses establish it.

So what should we do if someone asks us to pray an unknown prayer?

They don't exist. Prayer is by definition intelligeable communication, even if it isn't as intelligeable as it "ought" to be.

If we love the Lord and love the person we should lovingly tell them that we cannot pray in faith without understanding what we are seeking God to do.

I can't pray at all, never mind in faith, if I don't know why or what I'm praying.

If the request is too personal to share then they should find someone who they trust enough to share it with so that they can pray in faith.

You might be confusing confession with prayer.

That does not mean that every detail needs to be shared. If someone needs healing say that. if someone needs saved say that. if someone needs to be set free from addiction say that and so on. There is no need to say that the person is a homosexual needing saved, or that the person has aids and needs healed or other details. We only need to have an understanding of the basic need.

So you've abandoned the original subject of unspoken prayer for understandable prayer?

Now someone might bring up Romans 8:26 which reads;
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
However this passage is not suggesting that we pray without knowing what we are asking for.

It doesn't even mention asking for anything, it only mentions prayer in general, and it explicitly states The Spirit helps us when we don't know what we should pray for.

It is saying that even though we know what we are seeking we do not know how to properly approach God.

It says no such thing. It says even tho we DON'T KNOW
what we need to pray for like we ought to, The Holy Spirit steps in & intercedes.

The word that is translated "ought" is the Greek word dā and it means; "it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper." In other words the manner we seek God is not totally understood.

It says no such thing. It isn't about mannerism at all.

We simply do not know how to properly approach God in respect and honor.

What do you mean "we", paleface? Speak for youself.
Don't try & put my fingerprints on this trainwreck,

So the Spirit intercedes for us. However we are never to seek Him with prayers that we do not know what we are asking.

You just made that up. Paul says it is a fact that "for we know not what we should pray for as we ought". He doesn't say it is forbidden.

Now someone might say that God does answer unspoken prayers. Not so.

He has answered many of my unspoken prayers...

I'm gettin' conversational whiplash from your sudden change of subject from not understood prayer to unspoken prayer. You might not find yourself popular among deaf &/or mute Christians.

What has happened is that God answered the prayer of someone else who actually asked knowing what they were asking.

Now you are wildly guessing.

Those who pray without knowing simply dishonored the Lord and do no good at all, but actually are in sin.

Subject change again!

So let us pray biblically as well as honorably before our Lord doing so in faith. If we will do this we will help hinder the efforts of darkness from dishonoring our Lord and in doing so find that we are really part of God's answered prayer. God bless

Figure out what you're talking about & I'll tell you if your dishonoring the Lord or not. So far, I'm thinkin' you're doin' just that by being confused and attempting to pontificate.

 

[sunlover1]

In today's church there has risen a practice by some that is both non biblical as well as disrespectful to the Lord. That practice is to pray unspoken prayers. Unspoken prayer requests are simply not biblical. They go against what scripture teaches as how we are to pray. No one in the bible ever prayed such prayers. One reason is that NO ONE can pray in faith while praying an unspoken prayer. If we do not know what we are asking we pray as those who tempt God with meaningless words without understanding.

I think it depends on what we consider "prayer".
There are different kinds of prayer imo.
For instance, would you consider, just spending
time alone on your face without even speaking...
just prostrate before almighty God, praying?
Do you believe that God can hear us if we pray
without our voices, such as in a very quiet whisper?
I do.
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said,...

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them...

But you're right, there is a time for spoken prayer
as well.

The same is when we seek God with prayers without knowledge. We seek Him in vain and we sin. Yes He knows all, but we are also responsible to approach our Lord in understanding and respect and in the manner given by example in scripture.

I dont know how one would pray without words or
knowledge.. are you speaking of praying in tongues?

And let's be honest here. We may be asking for something sinful for someone else. The fact that we may be a friend to the person and trust that person does not justify

This is why I dont ask others to pray for me unless
I know them well.
I dont want anyone praying 'their' will for me, because
God does indeed hear prayer and there are many
examples of petitions in the NT.
But to be honest, I dont understand what you mean
about saying amen to an unspoken prayer.
Do you mean as in if someone said to me, "can you
agree with me, but I dont want to disclose what
I'm praying about?"

In that case, I'd have to tell them I cant agree with them,
but that I will indeed pray for God to help them...

True faith praying needs to understand what we ask so we can say the Amen. There is a scripture that shows it to be wrong to say amen to that which we know not what we are say the amen to. It is in 1 Corinthians 14;
Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
While this is dealing directly with tongues it also has application to praying without understanding as well as saying amen to something that we have not understood.

I know of no other way to pray withuot understanding,
If I whisper , I know what I pray, if i yell it, I know what
I pray, if I dont even move my lips, same thing...
God isnt hard of hearing, he does hear even if theres
no or little sound coming out...

Saying amen is an acknowledgement that what has just been prayed is of God and God's will. It is putting our relationship on the line with God saying that I agree with this and God should do this.

If someone prays in my presence, and asks me to say
amen to it, yes, I agree iwth you, that's unwise.

Prayer is a serious thing and should be done with a great deal of concern and respect. Unspoken prayers violates any model given in scripture and so violates God's will for prayer.

Actually there is an instance, or more in Scripture,
and God did hear and answer her heartfelt prayer
for a baby.. Samuel:

12 And it came to pass,
as she continued praying before the LORD,
that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah,
she spake in her heart;
only her lips moved,
but her voice was not heard:
therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

So what should we do if someone asks us to pray an unknown prayer? If we love the Lord and love the person we should lovingly tell them that we cannot pray in faith without understanding what we are seeking God to do.

We should indeed tell them as well, that we will love
to pray for them... but cannot agree to something
we're not privy to.

If the request is too personal to share then they should find someone who they trust enough to share it with so that they can pray in faith.

Amen. It's a good thing to confess one to another,
and pray for each other.
But it must be someone trustworthy, as you said.

That does not mean that every detail needs to be shared. If someone needs healing say that. if someone needs saved say that. if someone needs to be set free from addiction say that and so on. There is no need to say that the person is a homosexual needing saved, or that the person has aids and needs healed or other details. We only need to have an understanding of the basic need. Again there is no need for exact details, but we do need too understand what the request is about so we can pray in faith. No one can pray in faith and not know what they are asking, NO ONE! It is impossible and we are commanded to pray in faith. To do anything less we sin and dishonor the Lord.

I do see your point, but arent you focusing quite
a bit on not being told the sin or problem etc.
We dont want to be busybodies either.
If it's our business God will share it with us,
adn we can know how to pray for that person.
If not, we can still pray for them right?
Just not a specific prayer, or a prayer of agreement.

Now someone might bring up Romans 8:26 which reads;
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
However this passage is not suggesting that we pray without knowing what we are asking for. It is saying that even though we know what we are seeking we do not know how to properly approach God. The word that is translated "ought" is the Greek word dā and it means; "it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper." In other words the manner we seek God is not totally understood. We simply do not know how to properly approach God in respect and honor. So the Spirit intercedes for us. However we are never to seek Him with prayers that we do not know what we are asking.

No, it specifically says "what to pray FOR"
This passage is not saying what you're trying
to make it say.
Let God be true...

Now someone might say that God does answer unspoken prayers. Not so. What has happened is that God answered the prayer of someone else who actually asked knowing what they were asking. Those who pray without knowing simply dishonored the Lord and do no good at all, but actually are in sin.

We cannot really know such a thing.

So let us pray biblically as well as honorably before our Lord doing so in faith. If we will do this we will help hinder the efforts of darkness from dishonoring our Lord and in doing so find that we are really part of God's answered prayer. God bless

I think there was some confusion about your post.
I'm not sure if I understood you correctly.
Petitions btw, should yeild results.
If you're praying for someone's health lets say
or for someones family relationships... there should
be change .
You may not see it physically at first, but you must
have faith that He's heard you, and that He's already
provided the answer, because without faith, a man
is like a ship tossed to and fro, wishy washy, no
conviction, no faith.. and should expect nothing from
the Lord.

When I pray for someone, IF it's a prayer that's according
to God's word or to a Rhema word, I expect and see
His Hand in that situation.

I think the Lord extends more grace than you think btw.

sunlover