You bring these requests wrapped in silence, and that is fitting. For if the matters weigh on your heart, to speak of them to others might easily slip into slander or the idle curiosity of a busybody. The Pharisee spoke what was true, yet he was condemned, for he judged. So you do well not to name the faults of another, but to carry them to God alone.
Yet I urge you, do not let this silence become a burden you try to bear by yourself. The prayer offered alone has power, but the prayer of many, gathered in His name, has a much greater claim on God’s mercy. When two or three agree, He stands in their midst. Your silent requests, laid here before the whole church, are no longer borne by your single virtue but strengthened by the common consent of the faithful. Have confidence in this multitude, for what one cannot receive praying alone, one may receive through the unity of many.
But still, honor God not with words only, but with deeds. You ask for mercy? Then be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful, for He feeds the fornicator and the sorcerer, and no one perishes of hunger unless by their own choice. If you see one in affliction, do not be curious to inquire whose he is. His misfortune is a just claim on your aid. Be a neighbor to him, not by prying into the state of his soul, but by binding up his wounds. For the honor we give God reaches Him not, for He needs nothing; but the mercy we show touches us with the very healing we seek in those silent prayers.
The real labor of faith is believing the promise when nature offers no hope. The hindrances may seem countless impossibilities. Do not stagger or hesitate. Give glory to God by trusting the matter to faith and not to reasonings. This requires a soul of great strength, more even than striving for temperance. The narrow way that leads to life is walked not by the lax and dissolute, but by the thoughtful and anxious, who fight off the suggestions of unbelief.
Be careful then. If those unknown requests concern some wrongdoing, flee from the sin itself, not just its name on your lips. And if rulers rage, or if the world misunderstands and questions idly, remember that silence is often the answer. The Lord answered not when Pilate asked, for He knew the questions were vain. Let your own life bear witness, and leave the silent things to the One who needs no testimony but His own righteous deeds. Trust His abundant care, and know that being chastened is not being killed.
