PSALM 35:10–16 – “All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?” Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. But I, when they were sick— I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning. But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth.”

THEME OF THE DAY: WORDLESS PRAYERS.  Today’s scripture is a Psalm of David. It is an emotionally charged Psalm. One commentary states, “This psalm is the appeal of an individual to the Lord for deliverance from the false charges, evil plots, and relentless hatred of his enemies.”  It is a cry from the oppressed.  David’s feels tremendous pressure from many enemies who are slandering him, want to harm him, and whose attacks upon him are unrelenting.  And what does he do?  Exactly what we are to do when we feel attacked and oppressed. He prayed. Maybe we won’t have literal or physical attacks like David, but we have many spiritual foes who are relentless in seeking to do spiritual and emotional harm to us.   Whatever the source of attack, the first line of defense is prayer, but not what might be our typical type of praying. David prays without words. Notice his posture – “I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest”.  If one’s head is bowed on the chest, the ability to talk is restricted.  This prayer is language of the heart without words.

In our communion with God, the heart of the matter is the heart of matter.  Yes, that is a play on words and simply means our hearts are the main issue between us and our Lord.  Jesus makes this quite clear in the application of worship but it extends to all areas of the Christian life – “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;  in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:7-9).

In prayer, God wants our hearts far more than our words.  Yes, words matter but only if the heart is right and directing our words.  It is very easy to say prayers without a heart behind our prayers.  Just think about how often we offer audible prayers while our hearts are disengaged or far away by mental or emotional distractions.

One of the great privileges as Christian is to do what David does in today’s scripture – unburden our anxieties, fears, and raw emotions to the Lord in language only He knows; the language coming from a hurting heart, a fearful heart, an anxious heart, and a heart that cries out of pain but with sincerity and transparency.

So, in those times of being overwhelmed life, and we cannot come up with words to send to our heavenly Father, just let our hearts talk.  It is a language He understands and is eager to hear.

PRAYER: Father, I praise You that You know my heart and when I cannot pray words, You hear my cries.

REFLECTION: God delights in the language of our hearts more than us filling the air with words.