Some of my best conversations are often with myself. I can be creative and condemning. Sometimes it’s lighthearted, and other times it’s heavy. But the best conversation you will ever have is one where you do not dominate the clock. A conversation is a multi-way path. Maybe that’s why we have two ears, one mouth, and one brain. If you talk to yourself the right way, don’t be surprised when you answer yourself with a flippant or deeply thought-out response.
I’m just saying.
Technology (telephones) often has us with one ear to the phone. The other ear is distracted by sounds in the space where your conversation is occurring. Distraction alert! Even if we pay attention to the speaker with both ears, room noise tends to pull our attention this way. That way. Any way but complete and undivided focus on who you are conversing with.
During these later years of life, I’m not ashamed to be found talking things out with myself. I can pose several sides to an issue, see a right and wrong path, and make hard decisions. Of course, most of these conversations are sub rosa, as in under my breath, a silent voice where no one hears! In other words, most of these conversations happen within my brain!
Can God Hear Your Silent Conversation?
From a youngster’s growth path upward and onward, we have been taught to pray with “outside” voices. God must only hear when we speak with our vocal cords, right?! Think about people with no ability to speak or who cannot hear, and thus their words are never heard by themselves. Imagine being in a crowded situation, and your prayers (words) may scare innocent bystanders. Or, you want to converse silently with God because what you are confessing or asking might just put you in jail if everyone heard.
Can God hear your silent prayer? Well, sure… God can do anything, but fail, says the old song. But scripture also allows us to understand that God’s Word knows the heart’s thought and intent. (Hebrews 4:12) If his written word can divide our very being, how much more can God know without hearing?!
The prophet could see Hannah’s lips move but not hear her voice and marked her as perhaps drunken. (1 Samuel 1:13) She was childless and hoped for a bundle of joy. Her husband knew her heart was grieved (v8), and when she prayed, “she spake in her heart” (v13). The prophet told her God would grant her petition (v17). She called the child Samuel, which means, “Heard of God.”
In the KJV, Jesus is often written about as one who could “perceive” the heart. As I thought this through, and there are many scriptures that speak of this (ex. Matthew 16:8, Luke 5:22, etc.) The English translation of that Greek word is the concept of “knowing.” Without, perhaps, hearing anything, Jesus knew.
The Mode of Our Request
If God knows, then verbalizing out loud is not required. If God can hear, and man cannot, then rest assured that the enemy of our soul has no verbal cues of your prayer. Sometimes we broadcast our struggles, and ol’ Slewfoot nods his head. He now knows your struggle. If you are prepared for battle, then declare aloud your need. If not, keep it to yourself. God knows.
Your open request produces something of value. Others can join you in prayer if you acknowledge the need. Someone can lift you with the strength of their prayers. That’s perhaps why James writes that we could call for the elders with our need, confess our faults one to another, pray for one another for healing. (James 5:13-16)
Perhaps this is why the Apostle Paul never quibbled about prayer. It seems it was meant to be vocalized where all could hear. In my favorite epistle, he writes these favored words just before his power declaration of how to live.
Let your gentleness be known to all men.
The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:5-7 NKJV)
One Last Thought
Others need to hear our prayer. Let them hear your words about their need. Grandmother Simmons prayed for everyone. She had a legal-size pad of paper with several columns of names, and it was several pages in length. Every day, she prayed. Every day, she prayed for me and my family.
One of the greatest blessings someone else can find is the fact that you prayed for them.