Unspoken

​Unspoken.

It’s a word we tend to associate with the negative. Because our culture tends to tell all (or at least a stylized version of “all”), we somehow think that when something remains unspoken, it’s too horrible to speak aloud. Too serious to share. Too radical to reveal.

But sometimes, unspoken is just that: unspoken. Not put into words. Shared only for the spirit, the “thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

Somehow, the phrase “unspoken prayer request” doesn’t come up too often anymore. Back in the days of the old-fashioned church prayer meeting, the leader (generally the pastor) would always pause at the end of a time of sharing prayer requests: “Who has an unspoken?”

Here and there across the sanctuary, hands would go up. One might represent problems in a marriage. Another, a suspected illness. Still another, a personal struggle with sin.

But those hands might also represent a still-new pregnancy. A promising job offer. A future and hope.

Sometimes the “unspoken” came because the person sharing it did not have permission to go beyond the general. Sometimes it came because of a desire, good or bad, to remain private. And sometimes the request remained unspoken because of other people and situations who would be wounded by more open sharing.

On the field and at home, Awe Star has unspoken requests too. Yes, we share plenty of prayer needs both here and on the field. But there are always those needs that must, for various reasons, remain unspoken.

It may be an issue of timing. Sometimes it’s because we need to keep our missionaries safe and secure. Or there may be health concerns that don’t warrant broadcasting. Perhaps a gift has been promised but not received, an application started but not finished, a team opened but not filled.

​And so many more.
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Today, as you pray for Awe Star, would you pray for our unspoken? We have some big ones right now, and we’re pretty sure you do, too. Please know that we’re praying for you and all your unspoken, too.
 
 

 

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