My question to you all here is: from the perspective of Reformed Christians, and especially in light of the Regulative Principle – where do we get the idea of “silent prayer” as a norm for both personal and public prayer?
YES- personal prayer should be private, which is why Jesus, in his instructions on prayer in Matthew 6 instructs not to make your regular prayers on the street corner, to be heard of men, but to go into your closet and shut the door -Why would Jesus say " enter into thy CLOSET, and when thou hast SHUT THY DOOR, pray to thy Father which is in secret" - when we could pray to God on the streets and NOBODY would know that we're praying b/c it's all in our head? If the point is to not attract attentions, then why didn't Jesus say "rather than speaking out loud like the Pharisees, it's ok to go ahead and pray in your head?"
This is why Jesus and other saints of the bible would go off into the wilderness or someplace that they could be alone to pray out loud to God – (ex. Mat 14:23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.; or Gen 24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide:)
Tracy,
This is an interesting topic and even more interesting is your contention that ALL prayer MUST BE audible. To be honest, I have never heard nor read anyone who has promoted this.
Let me preface my brief comments by quoting from the Westminster Confession, not on the matter of prayer, but on the matter of 'hermeneutics', i.e., how we are to interpret the Scriptures and come to a right understanding of its teachings.
Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scriptures
VI. The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life,
is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.[12] Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word:[13] and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.
My purpose in starting with this quote and for introducing the matter of biblical interpretation is that sometimes we fall prey to the misconception that the Bible is to be used as an encyclopedia, i.e., doctrine can only be formulated by direct propositional statements. Thus, in regard to this subject, if one doesn't find an expressed/direct statement that clearly mentions "silent prayer", then it must be that such a practice is not taught in the Bible. However, as the Westminster Confession rightly, I believe, states, we are also to use "good and necessary consequence" from which we may deduce God's truth.
1. Re: Matt 6:5,6 does not address the matter of audible or silent prayer for the righteous although it does mention the audible prayers of the Pharisee, to which Jesus renders a condemnation... but indirectly. For the condemnation isn't in regard to the audibility of the prayer but rather the intention of the Pharisee's heart, i.e., to be heard of men with the intention that they may be esteemed as "holy" or "godly". The condemnation is in regard to the misuse of praying. Secondly, you deduce that the "secret" prayer which Jesus instructs us to do in our "closet" must be audible prayer since we are to close the door
implying that the shut door would keep others from hearing what we are praying vs. the Pharisee's public display of praying. However, the pericope isn't addressing audible vs. silent prayer but again, the
manner and intention of praying. It is to be a personal, intimate communication with God and not one that is used to give the appearance of spirituality, a spirituality which is esteemed to be elevated over others. So, I cannot accept your reasoning from this passage that all prayer must be audible.
2. You asked for biblical support for those who hold to the view that prayer can be silent. Here are a few texts which I believe do either speak directly to the matter or by good and necessary consequence can be deduced from them.
Psalms 1:2 (ASV) "But his delight is in the law of Jehovah; And on his law doth he meditate day and night."
Psalms 19:14 (ASV) "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer."
Psalms 42:3 (ASV) "My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?"
Lamentations 2:18 (ASV) "Their heart cried unto the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; Give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease."
Luke 1:47 (ASV) "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
1 Corinthians 14:15 (ASV) "What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."
Ephesians 6:18 (ASV) "with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,"
Psalm 19:14 is quite instructive as David wrote: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah,". Here there is a clear contrast between "words of my mouth" and the "meditation of my heart", both of which are referring to David's communication with God, i.e., prayer.
1 Cor 14:15 also contrasts prayer which is clearly silent vs. that which is audible.
I'll let you reason through the other passages at your leisure.
3. John Bunyan wrote: "In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." I think one would be hard pressed not to understand Bunyan as advocating prayer that is from the heart as well as prayer done with the mouth. I am certainly not saying that John Bunyan is the standard of all truth!
But I thought a quote from a notable Christian would add to my argument.
4. Now, let's move on to reason, which Scripture and the WCF do not disparage. IF prayer is to ONLY be audible, then we would certainly be restricted in when and where we could pray. Do I really need to provide examples of specific situations where it would be inappropriate and/or inconsiderate to pray audibly? Surely there are some obvious ones, e.g., when confessing sin before God, functioning as an employee in an office, at private and public meetings when someone else is speaking, in corporate worship where women are not allowed to speak, etc. There are myriad situations where we should communicate (aka: pray) with God within the confines of our own mind and heart. Is it wrong to pray silently unto the Lord as you are falling asleep each night? Well, I hope my point is well taken and the few examples will suffice to show that praying silently within oneself is not only appropriate but encouraged for it opens the door wide to commune with God.
5. Lastly, and simply, I believe this is not an "either/or" matter, but rather a "both/and" matter. Prayer can be and should be both audible when appropriate and silent when appropriate. Thus we can fulfill Paul's counsel to "pray without ceasing".
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