Praying Without Words

Encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything encouraging prayer Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling and many other books on prayer provides weekly biblical insight help you learn to love and valve how I'm excited about today's the day were gonna dive into prayer without words.

James does this mean Morgan have radio silence. Let's start now. We prayed without word is something you don't hear about you often, but learning about it can help with so much when we pray before he went on the air you were telling me about a discovery that you'd made this past week that man I thought I was amazed.

I have a new friend who's a real Christian book dealer and I now have a page from one of Charles Haddon Spurgeon sermons edited in his own handwriting and in unit it talks about praying without words. And you know if someone like Spurgeon goes there.

This isn't anything weird or mystical rhyme is just solid practice for praying, so I'm sure everybody is with me what he said will determine its entitled joy joy forever and he said here's the quote what is sweeter than to say with the tears in one's eyes. My Lord, I love the sit down and have nothing to ask for no words to utter only for the soul to love is this not heavenly and then he goes on and talks about this ocean of in unutterable love.

Because of Jesus, but I love this because Spurgeon's is really talking about his own practice of prayer here.

There will be times when he would simply sit there and lift his heart to God with love and that's the best thing about learning how to pray with words. We just love week toward God from the heart, lifting our hearts to him in love and in you can do this anytime, anywhere. Many times throughout the day.

It really is part of the secretive of learning how to pray without ceasing, how I love that class is for time to talk all the time. Like any good car salesman can easily become all about us and we can run out of things to say but if we just love wow. I mean we can do that. Yeah exactly having again just lift your heart and love to just love them and I think it's a very childlike way to pray. Just just clinging to our Savior by loving him, but it also helps us to quiet ourselves and to listen and this is just one way that we can pray without words, there are others.

Let's go there okay well just as you can move your heart with would love toward God.

You can also do this for others as well and and pray for them without words. Frank Lauterbach was a missionary to the Philippines. A generation ago we talked about him before he invented the Lombok literacy method and used to practice something that he called/green and called it that because it could happen that quickly flashes it's one of the things I love about it, you can think so much faster than you can talk so an example of this might be the teacher in the classroom who looks at the student and simply loves and from the heart you're asking God to blessing, but without words, and Richard Foster writes about this. I think in celebration of discipline and he pointed out how some teachers saw some very interesting positive results in their children in the classroom when they prayed this way and you know you can do this in a moment. For anyone, anywhere sitting on the bus sitting in church again.

You know you love and you pray at the same time mindful of God's presence with you in the moment as if to say, Lord, pour out your love on this person and it's another way of letting God love through you.

This also makes me think about what Paul wrote in Romans eight about the spirit helping us in our weakness and interceding for us with those wordless groans, exactly, you know, so there it is right out of Scripture. The Spirit even intercedes for us like this without words. I love this because sometimes only pray the words just come, but you can really lift whatever motion it is in your in encountering right into the moment with God. Yet, you really can you maybe grieving deeply in the words won't come but you can cry out to Jesus or you may be happy about something and you just want to praise God for, and you could lift your happiness to him as well. You know, again without words so you know it's it's a beautiful way to pray this stick some of the pressure that we don't have to focus so much on what were gonna say all the time, although that is important right yeah no course, there are times where will make specific requests of God one to articulate our praise to him or were in our needs. Absolutely. But I like to think about praying without words is another way that we abide in him you know when you are with someone you love you talking all the time you at least I hope not.

Your also listening and simply being quiet together and those of the best of friendships where you don't always need words or friendship with God should be like that. So you could say it's the last hang out with Jesus coming in and that brings me to you know and another way you think about it will, of praying without words, you can rest you know we we can rest our souls and him. I like to think of John leaning into Jesus at the Last Supper and never mentioned before, sometimes, and going to bed at night and will put my head on my pillow and lean into it. I'm leaning into Jesus. I love doing that. But I also love doing this in the middle of the day just resting in him. Everything is so busy.

I got so much to do but then I just leaned into him. I just resting him in my spirit and you know all or when you're tempted helps all know that he's right there and whatever you do this you his peace comes as a result, I know exactly what you're saying Jesus really is Emmanuel, God with us and when we rest in him. There's nothing like the PC gives James, would you close us with prayer because this is radio try some words. Lord, thank you thank you that we can come to you that you understand what's on our hearts. We don't even after articulate it.

You are so good all the Lord help us to help us to resting you help us to love others with our prayers as well. We praise you for this incredible privilege. We praise you that we get pray in Jesus name, amen. Hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray