Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You bring a request veiled in silence, but He who searches the hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, for He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Do not think that because the matter is unspoken, it is unknown to Him who formed the inward parts. He knows your petition before you frame the words; He perceives the sigh that has no utterance. That you bring this request in the name of Jesus is itself the beginning of victory.
Yet take heed, lest you place your trust solely in the prayers of others while you yourself sleep. Do not say, "What need have I of prayer? I have asked the church." If we are not on the alert ourselves, the help of others will profit us nothing. We need both our own part and God's part. You have done well to ask, but be not idle. This unspoken burden is a call to your own watchfulness. The affairs of every day are a fight, a tempest, a storm, and prayer is a great weapon. Go forth to your business with much security only if you have first made God propitious by your own prayer and supplication. For even Paul did not say, "What need have I of prayer?" though those praying for him were far beneath him. On this account you need it most, because you think your request, sent without words, might somehow be less, or that you have done enough. Do not exalt yourself, lest you be humbled.
See how the Lord Himself, when standing at the tomb of Lazarus, lifted His eyes and prayed. He did not pray because He needed an impulse from above, for His will and the Father's are one. He said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always." Why then did He assume the form of prayer? "Because of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me." It was not for His own need, but for the strengthening of those who witnessed it. So it is with your unspoken request. The Father hears you always, even when the words are only a silent cry of the heart, that you might believe He has sent Jesus, and that in His name you have full access. This prayer is not to inform God, who knows all things before you ask, but to lift you up into that place of trust.
Therefore, do not merely hand over the burden and walk away. Arm yourself. If the matter is a spiritual struggle, remember that faith alone is not all that is required; prayer itself gives much power, and prayer must come first. Sometimes the demon of anxiety or despair is not cast out except by prayer and fasting. Do not argue from rare cases that some have cast them out without such diligence. For the patient suffering inwardly, it is a thing impossible, living luxuriously in the soul, to be delivered from such madness without strictness of life and earnestness of supplication.
Let this unspoken request drive you to your knees, not just once, but in all perseverance. Pray at all seasons in the Spirit, watching thereunto. For every single day the rocks are many, and oftentimes the boat strikes and is sunk. You need favorable winds. Do not place yourself in a situation where you rely only on the intercession of the saints while your own heart slumbers. It is a good thing to enjoy the prayer of the church, but it is when you yourself are also on the alert. Even now, you are known and called. Grace from Him is needed, and He waits to give it, that through your thanksgiving, even for a request still unspoken but already heard, God may be glorified.
Yet take heed, lest you place your trust solely in the prayers of others while you yourself sleep. Do not say, "What need have I of prayer? I have asked the church." If we are not on the alert ourselves, the help of others will profit us nothing. We need both our own part and God's part. You have done well to ask, but be not idle. This unspoken burden is a call to your own watchfulness. The affairs of every day are a fight, a tempest, a storm, and prayer is a great weapon. Go forth to your business with much security only if you have first made God propitious by your own prayer and supplication. For even Paul did not say, "What need have I of prayer?" though those praying for him were far beneath him. On this account you need it most, because you think your request, sent without words, might somehow be less, or that you have done enough. Do not exalt yourself, lest you be humbled.
See how the Lord Himself, when standing at the tomb of Lazarus, lifted His eyes and prayed. He did not pray because He needed an impulse from above, for His will and the Father's are one. He said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always." Why then did He assume the form of prayer? "Because of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me." It was not for His own need, but for the strengthening of those who witnessed it. So it is with your unspoken request. The Father hears you always, even when the words are only a silent cry of the heart, that you might believe He has sent Jesus, and that in His name you have full access. This prayer is not to inform God, who knows all things before you ask, but to lift you up into that place of trust.
Therefore, do not merely hand over the burden and walk away. Arm yourself. If the matter is a spiritual struggle, remember that faith alone is not all that is required; prayer itself gives much power, and prayer must come first. Sometimes the demon of anxiety or despair is not cast out except by prayer and fasting. Do not argue from rare cases that some have cast them out without such diligence. For the patient suffering inwardly, it is a thing impossible, living luxuriously in the soul, to be delivered from such madness without strictness of life and earnestness of supplication.
Let this unspoken request drive you to your knees, not just once, but in all perseverance. Pray at all seasons in the Spirit, watching thereunto. For every single day the rocks are many, and oftentimes the boat strikes and is sunk. You need favorable winds. Do not place yourself in a situation where you rely only on the intercession of the saints while your own heart slumbers. It is a good thing to enjoy the prayer of the church, but it is when you yourself are also on the alert. Even now, you are known and called. Grace from Him is needed, and He waits to give it, that through your thanksgiving, even for a request still unspoken but already heard, God may be glorified.
