Much like He Who Shall Not Be Named, a mysterious force makes its way through prayer groups, prayer chains, and churches; the ‘unspoken’ prayer request. ‘Unspokens’ were fairly popular in the moody teen years of the 90’s generation, perhaps because it gave them a feeling of edginess, or perhaps because they didn’t feel like explaining everything. But in the Christian world of 2016, ‘unspokens’ can destroy.
We live in a world of backstabbers, two-timers, and hatred. It’s in these times that we must show love, trust, and respect, just as Jesus did. It is especially crucial to cultivate a community of faith, love, and honesty within Christian circles. If you can’t be honest with your brothers and sisters in Christ, then who can you be honest with?
No human likes to bare their heart. Sometimes having to talk about the real struggles and sins that you wade through everyday makes you feel like a Dementor is sucking out your soul. But in order to stand up against the opposition of the Dark Lord, Christians must stay tightly knit and be able to stand together, trusting that the other has their back in the dangerous battles that ensue.
The ‘unspoken’ prayer request devastates that bond.
Just imagine it for a moment: you’re sitting with a group of friends. All of you know each other pretty well, you’ve been through a lot together, and you really feel like you can trust these people. While the group is taking prayer requests, someone says they have an ‘unspoken’ prayer request. Suddenly, you’re filled with doubt. What is it about this request that makes it unspoken? What doesn’t this person trust the group with? Is it horrible? Should someone be contacted for the safety of a person? Why don’t they just say what it is?
Before you know it, the other requests were spoken and you didn’t hear a word. For the entire time of prayer, you’re filled with questions, confusion, and worry. Doesn’t this sibling in Christ feel safe and comfortable enough to share with you? You start questioning everything; your friendship, their belief, the group...all of it.
Just like that, a killing curse was cast on your group of friends, because inevitably all of you are thinking the same thing. And the person who gave the 'unspoken' is just as worried and stressed as the rest of you.
‘Unspokens’ distract, confuse, and hurt. For the sake of a little privacy or staying in one’s ‘comfort zone’, a deluge of damage is dealt. Damage that won’t be forgotten. During the next prayer meeting, another group member will give an ‘unspoken’ request because now they don’t trust the people around them, either. A chain reaction begins until the situation spirals out of control and nobody feels safe giving out their honest prayer requests. If nobody feels safe giving out the requests to their siblings, how can they hope to bring it before God? Soon they don't even have the courage to open their heart to God, building this wall of 'unspoken' requests to block out anyone that might have been able to help.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as waving a wand and making all ‘unspokens’ go away with an Expecto Patronum. In some situations, ‘unspokens’ are actually appropriate. In this fallen world, not all wizards are good. Some Christians use prayer requests as an opportunity to gossip and slander as if they’re a reporter for The Daily Prophet. And in some situations, it simply isn’t safe to speak about the prayer. For example, perhaps a friend specifically asked you not to tell anyone. Or it might be a very serious situation that could cause damage if someone were to take things into their own hands and intervene.
While ‘unspoken’ prayer requests can be acceptable at times, they shouldn’t become a habit. They are still filled with a dangerous potential for harm and must be treated as such. Their use should only be in extremely necessary situations, with care and calculation, just like a Time Turner. If we want to have a chance of standing up to the Dark Lord, we’re going to have to band together and stand strong. We can’t let our determination waiver, and we need to trust each other and look out for each other. When we stand together, we can accomplish more than we could ever hope to do alone.
