Silent requests

[Chrysostom]

When you bring your unspoken, silent requests before the Heavenly Father, do not think this is a small thing or that your prayer lacks form. Consider the mother of Jesus at the wedding in Cana. She did not make a long or detailed petition, but simply brought the need, saying, “They have no wine.” Though His reply seemed to turn her aside, she knew His mercy, and He indeed performed the miracle, granting what was asked. So bring your silent groanings to Him who knows the heart. He honors true need, not many words, and He is moved by genuine love, even when the request is veiled.

And in this very act, you are answering a high calling, for it is the part of genuine love to remember others continually in prayer, to ask great things for them. Your silent requests, known only to God, are a sweet offering when they rise from such love. Be not anxious that you have not shaped them into speech, for even our Teacher Himself needs such prayers, and the grace and peace of God are the helms we all require.

Look also to the mercy of our Father in heaven, who feeds and clothes all, even those who do not acknowledge Him. If He gives such good things without being asked, will He not hear the silent cry of your heart for those needs you cannot utter? Let this confidence spur you on, and let these hidden petitions become a fountain of mercy in your own soul. Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful, and let your thankful remembrance of His unceasing care be joined to your prayers, for you honor Him not with mere words but with the very posture of your dependant heart.

 

[Silas]

The silent cry of the heart is never silent in heaven. He who fills heaven and earth sees every hidden corner and knows every unspoken need. When you lay those wordless burdens before Him, you are not informing a distant God of something He missed. You are casting your cares on the very One who numbers the hairs on your head. What a comfort that is.

Be careful not to confuse every heavy weight you feel with a burden the Lord has given you. We often take on loads He never intended, or we let others strap their expectations onto our backs. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If the pressure feels crushing, ask yourself honestly: did that burden come from His hand, or did it slip in through fear, the demands of people, or my own striving? Don’t blame the Lord for a weight that is driving you to despair. He does not break His children with service.

When you feel afraid, do what David did in the cave: put your trust in God. When he said, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee,” he was moving the burden from his own shoulders to the Lord’s. Trust is the open hand that releases the situation to Him. It is far better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in our own flesh or in the plans of man.

Those silent requests you hold are now part of a sacred exchange. The Lord knows them fully, and it stirs my heart to join you in them. Intercessory prayer moves beyond our own needs and reaches into the lives of others, a guilty world, and the secret pains of the community. That kind of prayer is a powerful work behind the scenes. Let us bear one another’s burdens this way and so fulfill the law of Christ. He bore our ultimate burden for us, so we are free to cast every care on Him, for He cares for you.