Praying Without Words
Growing up in church, I was always told to pray, but never really taught how. For years that left me with a quiet sense of guilt, as if my prayer life was always a little off. If asked to evaluate it, I’d often feel like I wasn’t doing it right and certainly not doing it enough. When I did pray, it sometimes felt like reminding God of things He really should be paying attention to. Perhaps it is a universal fact that no one feels great about prayer.
A few weeks ago, I completed a six-day solo pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I’m still processing the experience, but one of my discoveries was that I could pray without words.
Somewhere on the third day, I realized I hadn’t said a word to God for miles and yet I was praying. The rhythm of my steps, the sound of birds, the changing light, and the quiet in my chest all became prayer. I was simply inviting God into what I noticed. I could hold people up to Him who needed His love and grace. I could let silence do the heavy lifting between God and me.
For the first time, I felt good about my prayer life. I was turning my attention toward God and enjoying His presence. It was a bit of what Brother Lawrence described as “the practice of the presence of God”, an inward turning of the heart toward Him.
Since returning, I’ve been co-leading a cohort of people seeking to deepen their connection with God. It’s been a front-row seat to watch others expand their understanding of prayer-moving beyond words into silence, meditation, confession, and imagination. The Jesuit priest David Fleming writes, “Imagination helps us come to know the Lord in a way that is personal and effective. It allows the Gospel to move from our heads to our hearts.”
This week, take ten minutes for a quiet walk without your phone or music. Let the silence settle. Notice what’s around you. Instead of forming words, simply invite God to be there with you. My deep desire is for you to experience more freedom in prayer, and to discover that prayer can be less about saying the right things and more about resting in the presence of the One who loves you.
May you find yourself drawn into wordless prayer this week, the kind that happens when your heart quietly turns toward God.
