The Sound of Prayer
There are different types of prayer.
There are various ways to pray these prayers. There are varying tones, rhythms, and sounds of worship. Though all this is true, prayer should always have one primary posture. This posture begins with our heart, and this heart posture should be humility. We must approach God with a humble heart that fully trusts in Him for our prayers to be heard and received. The Bible says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). So regarding prayer, the tone, type, or length is irrelevant if it is not delivered in humility. When our hearts are submitted in humble reverence to the Most High God, our answers are fast-tracked to us as everything coincides in the spirit effortlessly.
Some prayers are loud and aggressive. Some are soft and calm. But for this entry, I will focus on quiet prayers.
One day, while I was in prayer, I felt ineffective because I couldn’t project my voice to line up with the force and fervency of my prayer. My prayer time is personal & private, so a loud voice would break my focus by trying to conceal my conversation. My mind said, “Father, I can’t pray loud because everyone is sleeping & I don’t want to draw any attention to my conversation with You.” So I continued to speak softly, then instantly my Father responded and said regarding my whisper, “It’s ok, I can hear you.” I had an impression explaining that I don’t have to yell, be loud, or project my voice for God to receive my prayer. Raising our voices doesn’t equate to effectiveness in prayer. The posture of our heart and the humility with which we approach the throne of our Father is what matters. My soft voice or whisper did not diminish the passion behind my prayer/conversation because the position from which I prayed was one of humble confidence. I knew my Lord received my prayer because I was submitted and seeking Him earnestly with a humble heart. The prayer had an impact and was effective because of my heart posture.
One example we can reference of how God responds to quiet prayers comes from Hannah’s story. Scripture tells us in 1 Samuel 1 how Hannah prayed quietly to the Father for a child. The Bible says that Hannah was in deep distress and wept bitterly as she prayed (1 Samuel 1:10). Usually, when someone prays from a state of anguish, it is heard. There are tears and audible sobs or weeping. But we see in this account that Hannah didn’t make any sounds. Though praying from a place of bitter sadness, she was quiet. As I read this part of Hannah’s story, I get a picture of her bent over or kneeling, praying fervently, to the point of visual animation where the intensity of the prayer can be recognized from facial expressions alone. Have you ever been in such distress that all you can do is quietly moan? In such emotional or physical pain that you don’t have enough strength even to make a sound? I have been there. I have been in such pain that I couldn’t even cry; all I was able to do in those moments was pray like Hannah. The Bible says that her voice was not heard; only her lips moved. Hence, Eli (the priest) thought she was drunk (1 Samuel 1:13). Hannah identified herself to Eli as not drunk but as a woman of a sorrowful spirit, pouring her soul out before the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15). Hannah’s voiceless lips were moving only because she was speaking in her heart. As a result, God heard her prayer and blessed her with the very child she prayed fervently for, the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1:20). Hannah’s quiet prayer was recognized, heard, and received by God because of her heart posture and humility.
I continued to pray with understanding after God assured me that He was listening to my quiet prayer, and then I began to pray in the spirit (tongues). Once again, my mind began to question the effectiveness of my prayer since I didn’t know what I was saying. The Lord had already assured me that my quiet prayers were not falling on deaf ears, so I had to believe He was pleased to receive my prayers in tongues. But, I thought, “I am praying with my understanding in these quiet prayers, so a seemingly authentic dialogue is occurring. A real exchange of thoughts.” I ask, cry out, praise, etc., and then God responds. My will is fully involved, and my mind is directly engaged because I speak from my heart. I am actively pouring out words formulated in my soul through my mind, will, and emotions. Consequently, this standard mode of prayer is natural because I am human, and this is how humans pray. But 1/3 of me is spirit, and I was spirit before God created my flesh. So, prayers prayed by my spirit carry a different weight of power because my flesh is not involved. I have no idea what I am saying, but God knows, and He humorously confirmed His knowledge to me. As I prayed in tongues, questioning my effectiveness, wondering what I was saying, or even praying for anything that mattered, God gently responded, “Don’t be nosy.” I was reminded of God’s sense of humor and had an impression that translated to “I know what you’re saying even if your mind doesn’t, and it’s none of your business; it’s Mine.” I love God and how He speaks, and I know He hears and receives all of my heartfelt prayers because He told me so. No matter how soft, no matter how quiet, the frequencies of my prayers from a posture of humility will powerfully reverberate in the spirit realm forever.
