Makko Musagara
Have you ever been in a place where you want to pray but can’t because of circumstances? You’re afraid to open your mouth and say, “These people might think I’m crazy!” “. Or, in some places, you might simply worry about distracting others.
The good news is that there is a way out. You can pray with your heart, without opening your mouth.
Jonah prayed without opening his mouth.
A very good example in the Bible is found in the book of Jonah. Suddenly, Jonah found himself in the belly of a large fish where circumstances did not allow him to open his mouth or speak. Furthermore, Jonah was surrounded by darkness, water, digestive fluids and seafood that the fish had already swallowed.
Jonah felt the need to pray but unfortunately he could not open his mouth. What did he do? He closed his mouth tightly and prayed from the bottom of his heart. His heart began to communicate directly with God and he prayed as follows (Jonah 2:1-9):
“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and said,
In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’
God heard the prayer from Jonah’s heart.
All these words came from inside Jonah’s heart [silent prayer]. And do you know what happened? God heard the prayer from Jonah’s heart.
Yes, it can happen. Our Father in Heaven can actually hear your silent prayer. The prayer that comes from deep in your heart. The prayer that does not come from our mouth.
God answered Jonah’s silent prayer.
The Bible says that God responded to Jonah’s silent prayer by commanding the giant fish to vomit him on the dry land.
Start praying from inside your heart.
Start practicing praying from within your heart and eventually you will find it easy to pray from public places without people near you realizing it.
Pray without opening your mouth.
Kendall Monceda
Thank you for this article. I am the firstborn of my family who is only the active christian. With my several attempt of Daniel’s fast that I failed, I now made up my mind to finish this another attempt. I am currently facing a health problem, anxiety, remorse, decision making problem, financial loss and stuck in a situations that I have no peace; as a consequence of my disobedience. I sincerely humbled myself to vow to my God to restore my soul, and lead me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.
I can correlate to the life of Jonah, whereas I went to another direction opposing God’s calling to me. I went to the direction of the world conformity, instead of working in the ministry. So I was thrown in the sea, (the sea of confusion, doubt, temptation and anxiety), and I was eaten by a big fish (I got infected with HIV, I got scammed by people and investment fraud). I also broke a friendship with my brother in Christ.
I cannot pray out loud under the belly of the fish, for I am in a common house where me and my parents and siblings shares the same room. I don’t have a private room to do so, and we live at urban community. My opportunity left is to pray silently with my heart. I wonder if God would hear my prayer with mouth shut, but thank you for this article that give me a clear insight about this matter.
Please pray for me my brothers and sisters for my healing with HIV and Hepatitis B. I’m Kendall Monceda, male, 23 from General Santos, Philippines.
I know He is the God who can restore me and heal all my disease. He is the God who never lost a battle. This is how fight my battle, with fervent prayer to Him. I know He is the God who will take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good.
Makko Musagara
Hi Kendall,
We are going to pray for you. God is going to do miracles in your life.
Makko