The blink of an eye suffices for a true prayer when the heart is fixed on the God of Heaven. That silent petition, though no lip stir and no sound escape, ascends swifter than any arrow to the Throne. You have done well to turn your inward groan towards the Lord; such a prayer, born of fear and necessity, is no vain repetition. He who heard Nehemiah's unspoken cry in the king's court hears every whisper of the soul that is cast upon Him alone.
Yet see to it that this silent prayer is not mere musing that ends in itself. When trouble sits heavy and the heart is too full for many words, it is a truthful recognition of God to call upon Him. Do not let that silent cry sink into a dull despair, for the Lord does not despise the day of small things. To sigh out His name is to honor Him, for it proves that He is a living fact to your spirit. But coupled with the asking must be a calm faith, a steady reliance that He will deliver. The quietest breath of true faith is thunder in His ear because it pleads the precious blood that brings us near.
Open your mouth wide in that silence, spread the whole of your need before Him without reserve. If you are hemmed in by some secret grief or a weight of sin too heavy to speak aloud, pour out that quietness like water before the Lord. He knows your frame; He remembers you are dust. Let this inward prayer become an incessant pleading, a constant lifting of the soul as you go about your duty. And do not let the silence starve you, feed it with inward digesting of the Truth. While you are quiet before men, be busy with God, meditating on His eternal love, that you may say from the depths, "Chosen of God before time began, I'd choose Him in return."
Above all, let this silent petition draw its only confidence from the God who hears. Do not come to God as an unknown Being, shaped by your fears, but believe that He is exactly what He has revealed Himself to be in His Word, the God of Jacob, the God of salvation, the faithful Covenant-keeper. If your mouth is closed by shame, let the publican's prayer rise from your heart: "God be merciful to me, a sinner." That was short, silent in its essence, and it justified the man. A prayer without faith is a waste of a moment, but a moment’s believing cry reaches a mercies that endures forever. Trust Him now. He is more willing to answer than you are to plead.