The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Silent prayer – is it Biblical?

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?

When I go from beginning to the end of the Scriptures, I cannot clearly see any doctrine of praying silently. The model for prayer to me seems to be out loud, using the voice. Throughout the Psalms David cries “Lord, hear my voice” “Let me cry come unto thee”; most prayers throughout the bible are introduced by “and I said” or “and he said” said, spoke, cried, etc- I do not see any locutions such as “praying in his head”, “prayed silently” etc.

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:)

Another great example is Daniel:
Dan 6:10-11 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. (11) Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

It is obvious that Daniel’s prayer was out loud, both before and after the decree – when at either time he could have avoided a big hassle by just praying silently in his head…

So often, when talking about this subject (I have never met anyone outside of my immediate family who agrees with me- which is why I am very curious what you all think on this board) people reply with human reasoning- not based on Scripture – for example, the argument is often simply: “God knows and hears our thoughts, therefore, we can pray silently.” Yes, that sounds logical enough- but not Biblical enough to convince me. Another human reasoning retort is “what about mute people – can they not pray to God then?” Of course God is not limited by our limitations- but how the mute person prays should be the exception, not the norm – after all, mute people can not sing to the Lord either, does that mean the rest of us should sing silently in our heads only as well? If I were mute, I highly suspect that most of my prayers I would either write down, as David did, or use sign language as being the mute equivalent of praying out loud. As a side note, I think when people pray in their heads silently, it is way too easy to lose track of one’s thoughts, get caught up in a non-relevant tangent, our thoughts wander more when we don’t utter them out loud, and hence not give God the reverence and focus on Him that he deserves from us.

In my studies on this topic, I am aware of only three or four common proof texts for “silent prayer” three alleged uses in the OT, and a misapplication of the verse “Pray without ceasing” – as to the latter, people argue that the verse must mean we are to pray 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- and since it’s pretty nigh impossible to do that with verbal prayer- we must have to pray silently in our heads, right? Besides the fact that the admonition to pray without ceasing simply does not have anything direct to say about whether prayer is verbal or silent, if you look at what Paul says in Colossians 1:9 “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;” –Paul did not stop praying, whether for the Colossians, or any of the other people he regularly prayed for.

The three alleged OT uses of silent prayer are tenable at best, and even if they are possibly examples of silent prayer- I am still not convinced that they are instructional examples for us to pattern our doctrine on. (You know what I mean -just b/c David danced in a linen ephod, does not mean we should too- necessarily, etc)

The three OT examples are:
Hannah’s prayer for a son in 1 Samuel 1:10-16 – her lips clearly moved- so she was at least mouthing her words,– “Eli marked her mouth” and he came to the conclusion that she was drunk- he didn’t assume she was just praying in her head, b/c this was an exceptional case of extreme emotional distress for Hannah, and although perhaps sounds didn’t come out of Hannah’s moving lips, they did move, and her exact prayer is recorded for us.

The second example is Nehemiah – in Nehemiah 2:4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said unto the king,..
Here we have an argument from silence for silence! The text does not say that Nehemiah prayed silently- people simply assume that he did. Either way, we have his long prayer in chapter 1:4-11 which none claim to be silent – as for his prayer in 2:4 Did he say it out loud? What did he pray? Did he whisper it under his breath? Is his request to the King doubling as a prayer to God? (his request to the king is “If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.”) Perhaps such a quick ejaculatory prayer in the company of a King is fine to be silent when the rest of the prayer life is regular verbal prayer? As I said- it’s an argument from silence- i.e. a weak prooftext to try to prove a doctrine on.

The Third passage sometimes used is Genesis 24 – the account of Abraham’s servant finding Rebekah- a wife for Isaac, and his prayer to God regarding how he was to find the wife – when the servant retells his story to Rebekah’s family he says “And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.” (Gen 24:45 )
I’m not sure what to make of that verse- however it’s interesting to note that the first time the story is told it simply says:
Gen 24:15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

So we have to ask- what is the purpose of the passage? It is truly an instructional passage on how to pray?

If, out of the whole Bible, these are the clearest (yet very foggy) passages pointing to silent prayer- I am not willing to bet any theology on them- yet the idea of silent prayer is so widespread- why?


Another question- for the Church History buffs – how recent is the concept of silent prayer and where did it originate? I seem to find a connection to Catholics and mystics (breath prayer, eastern meditation practices, etc)

I’m trying to finish up this post- but one more thing- in Corporate prayer I would be for a Pastor leading in prayer with the congregation –but I would not be for silent prayer, likewise I would not be for everyone in a congregation praying out loud at once- for that would lead to confusion, and disorder.

Thoughts?

~Tracy

Wow, I thought I was the only other person on Earth who felt this way! And I figured it was because of my own limitations rather than necessarily because of any explicit Biblical basis.

I cannot "pray silently" at all. My thoughts get all jumbled, some are addressed to God and others to myself or someone else other than God, and I find that I must speak the words of my prayers just to keep my mind on track. I've always assumed that my scattered thoughts and the need to use something "external" like spoken or written words in order to focus, was just another facet of my autism (since most people apparently don't have the same difficulty) and it kinda sorta "keeps time" with all the sensory issues. Praying - even thinking - "out loud" is the only way I can really do either one effectively. So that is reason enough for me to pray "out loud," which I tend to do in writing or whispered into my hands while others are "praying silently." Now you have added some Scriptural reasons to do it! Thanks, Tracylight!

-R

Scripture seems to allow for both silent and audible prayers and I think it may be a misuse of Scripture to say that prayer must be done only one way or another. An excellent article on prayer which explores some of these considerations is "Prayer" by J.C. Ryle which can be found here

Enjoy!
“Men ought always to pray.” — Luke xviii. 1.
“I will that men pray everywhere.” — 1 Tim. ii. 8.

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.

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".

Dear Tracy,

Just read a part of your article on prayer, and whether it is biblical to only be spoken out loud. If one has a voice, I would say, Yes, surely it is, but what if you have NO voice through illness? I have to pray in my mind to the LORD and am so thankful that He knows every thought, word or deed. I have no strength, but rarely, to pray out loud, as my muscles, through illness, are too weak to operate my vocal chords.

The LORD hears even a cry or groan from the heart, which I do often.

Those of you who have strength of voice, then please pray for me. Thank you. Love in Christ, English Rose

From J.C. Ryle's article on Prayer: "I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of perseverance in prayer. Once having begun the habit never give it up. Your heart will sometimes say, “We have had family prayers; what mighty harm if we leave private prayer undone?” — Your body will sometimes say, “You are unwell, or sleepy, or weary; you need not pray.” — Your mind will sometimes say, “You have important business to attend to to-day; cut short your prayers.” Look on all such suggestions as coming direct from the devil. They are all as good as saying, “Neglect your soul.” I do not maintain that prayers should always be of the same length; — but I do say, let no excuse make you give up prayer. It is not for nothing that Paul said, “Continue in prayer,” and “Pray without ceasing.” (Colos. iv. 2; 1 Thess. v. 27.) He did not mean that men should be always on their knees, as an old sect, called the Euchitae, supposed. But he did mean that our prayers should be like the continual burnt offering, — a thing steadily persevered in every day; — that it should be like seed-time and harvest, and summer and winter, — a thing that should unceasingly come round at regular seasons; — that it should be like the fire on the altar, not always consuming sacrifices, but never completely going out. Never forget that you may tie together morning and evening devotions by an endless chain of short ejaculatory prayers throughout the day. Even in company, or business, or in the very streets, you may be silently sending up little winged messengers to God, as Nehemiah did in the very presence of Artaxerxes. (Neh. ii. 4.) And never think that time is wasted which is given to God. A nation does not become poorer because it loses one year of working days in seven by keeping the Sabbath. A Christian never finds he is a loser in the long run by persevering in prayer.
"

Thank you, Chestnut Mare, for your contribution of J.C. Ryle on prayer.

Love in Christ, English Rose - praying silently!!!

Fine work ,as usual Pilgrim. Psalm 42 lept to mind specially the verse following the one you quoted;


Seems to me Dave is speaking about personal-private and public activities as normal rather than in conflict.

H

It is the practice in may Reformed churches to have during the worship service a unison prayer of confession followed by a time of silent, personal confession. I'm not familiar with the history of this practice, but as far as I know it has never been challenged.