Prayer without words

A very basic definition of prayer is, “Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God.”  

Note, this definition does not mention the use of words.  But many of us are taught from childhood to remember to “say our prayers,” and saying something, of course, always involves words.  When we can recite the basic prayers–the “Our Father,” the “Hail Mary,” the “Glory be to the Father,” the “Apostles Creed”–we are happy to say, “I do know my prayers.  I can say all the well-known prayers.”  And perhaps we can also recite some prayers that are not so well known.     

However, what if we are “lifting up our minds and hearts to God,” but are not saying words? Are we then praying?  Father Benignus O’Rourke, O.S.A., an Augustinian priest in England, insists that we are.  In his book, “Finding Your Hidden Treasure,” he describes prayer without words as “one of God’s loveliest gifts, the purest form of prayer.”  

Is it possible to pray by being quiet in the presence of the Lord even while being very much aware of His presence?  If so, then hopefully, we will come to the realization that yes, indeed, we can pray without words.  I can reflect and talk about “praying” rather than about “saying my prayers.”  

After St. Augustine discovered prayer without words, he expressed his surprise this way, “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new! Late have I loved you...You were within me, but I was outside. There I sought you, as I rushed about among the beautiful things you had made.  You were with me, but I was not with You. You called; You cried out; You burst through my deafness.  I breathed Your fragrance, and now I pine for You.”

Having discovered the beauty, the fragrance of God, Augustine pined for God. Like him, if we discover that God is within us, then perhaps we too will be moved to pine for him, to seek to find Him within. With Augustine, we will be led to accept Christ within us and to love Him passionately.

As a bishop, Augustine prayed the prayer of the church with his people, but he also was aware of the importance of prayer without words.  Of this he said, “Prayer at its deepest is more than words.”

St. Matthew, in his Gospel, tells us that Jesus in one of his parables compares the kingdom of God to treasure in a field, which someone finds.  Matthew records Jesus as saying, “The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells everything, and buys the field.” (Mt 13:44)

Our lives are the fields in which God’s treasure is hidden, but we are not always aware of this.  If we become aware of it, we will surely take time to seek the treasure and hopefully to find it. We will take time to spend in God’s presence in communion with Him.  

If we are willing to sit in silence and journey to the still center of our being, we will discover that we already have everything we need for our spiritual journey, and we will find blessings at every step along the way.

Jesus, I thank You for the gifts You give to me.