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Vocal Prayer

When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be thy name.”

—Jesus of Nazareth (Luke 11:2)

The beating heart of the spiritual life is prayer. Over the centuries, Christian spiritual writers have often singled out three major forms: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation. Before we start walking down the spiritual path Jesus taught his disciples, it is necessary to first define our terms and clarify what the Bible teaches about each of these. We begin with vocal prayer.

On its most basic level, vocal prayer can be defined as using words to communicate with God. Over the centuries, Christian spiritual writers have often emphasized the use of spoken words in prayer. Consider, for example, the following statements from ancient, medieval, and modern times:

Prayer is by nature a dialogue . . . with God. 

—John Climacus (7th century)

Prayer is . . . the requesting of good things from God.

—John Damascene (8th century)

In vocal prayer the mind and heart must be attentive to what you say.

—Teresa of Avila (16th century)

Since human beings have souls and bodies, the translation of interior thoughts and feelings into exterior words is a natural form of communication. For this reason, vocal prayer has always been regarded as an essential part of the spiritual life. In the sixteenth century, the great Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila once described vocal prayer—when spoken from the heart—as “the door of entry” to the interior life of the soul.

Why is praying with words so important? Why not just skip over vocal prayer and go straight to silent meditation or contemplation? The answer: Jesus himself, following the Jewish Scriptures, used words when he prayed. Moreover, when asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray, Jesus gave them specific words to say, in the Lord’s Prayer (see Luke 11:1–4). In this chapter, we’ll take a few moments to look at Jesus and the Jewish roots of vocal prayer.

The Jewish Roots of Vocal Prayer

In order to understand the teaching of Jesus on vocal prayer, we have to begin by looking at vocal prayer in the Jewish Scriptures.

Vocal Prayer in Jewish Scripture

In the Old Testament, using words to communicate with the God of the universe goes all the way back to the beginning of human history. In the Garden of Eden, Adam uses words to speak to God when he hears him coming near: “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). Likewise, Abraham uses words to intercede for Lot and the people of Sodom: “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). When God appears to Moses in the burning bush, Moses uses words to say to God, “Here am I” (Exodus 3:4).

Sometimes, vocal prayer can be spoken so quietly that it is virtually silent, as when Hannah, the mother of Samuel, begs God to give her the gift of a son: “Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard” (1 Samuel 1:13). When her request is granted by God, Hannah responds with one of the most famous vocal prayers in all of Jewish Scripture, known as the “Song of Hannah”:

My heart exults in the Lord;

my strength is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth derides my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.

(1 Samuel 2:1)

Notice that in both cases, Hannah speaks to God from her “heart.” In context, this does not refer to an organ in her body. In Jewish Scripture, the “heart” (Hebrew leb) refers to the deepest part of a human being, the hidden center, the inner person. In the Hebrew conception of a human being, the “heart” is not only the seat of emotions; it is also the seat of memories, thoughts, and decisions. Above all, it is the heart that chooses to love. Thus, speaking from the heart is the essence of true vocal prayer.

The Book of Psalms: Masterpiece of Vocal Prayer

The book of Psalms is the indisputable masterpiece of vocal prayer in the Jewish Scriptures. Indeed, it is nothing other than a collection of 150 vocal prayers. In the original Hebrew, these “psalms” are called “praises” (Hebrew tehillim) because many of them are prayers of thanksgiving, adoration, and praise. The psalms explain not only what vocal prayer is but how it is to be practiced.

For example, the book of Psalms makes clear that the most basic definition of “prayer” (Hebrew tephillah) is speaking “words” to God:

Hear my prayer, O God;

give ear to the words of my mouth.

(Psalm 54:2)

At the same time, the Psalter emphasizes that true vocal prayer involves not just the lips but also the heart:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

(Psalm 19:14)

Finally, the book of Psalms even goes so far as to describe vocal prayer as a kind of sacrifice offered to God every morning and every evening:

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you, and watch.

(Psalm 5:3)

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice!

(Psalm 141:1–2)

According to the Jewish Bible, vocal prayer is something that should be done every day. Each day should begin and end by offering one’s “soul” back to the God who gave it in the first place (Psalm 86:3–4).

Jesus and Vocal Prayer

When we turn from vocal prayer in the Jewish Scriptures to the life of Jesus, we quickly discover that Jesus practiced vocal prayer himself and instructed his disciples to follow his example.

Jesus Prayed the Psalms

At the time of Jesus, the book of Psalms was the fundamental “prayer book” of the Jewish people.8 As a first-century Jew, Jesus would have known the Psalms by heart from singing them during festivals such as Passover. He also would have used the words of the Psalms in his own vocal prayer. To take just one example: at the very end of his life, as he is dying on the cross, Jesus cries out to God, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

With these words, Jesus is offering his life to the Father. This is the supreme example of vocal prayer as a sacrifice. However, that is not all Jesus is doing. He is also quoting the book of Psalms:

Into your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. 

(Psalm 31:5)

Jesus not only knows the words of Psalm 31 by heart but also makes these words his own in the last prayer he ever utters. However, whereas the psalm itself is addressed to “the Lord” (Hebrew YHWH), Jesus addresses his prayer to the “Father” (Greek patēr). One of the most distinctive aspects of the prayer of Jesus is his repeated insistence that his disciples address God as their Father.

Jesus Prayed in His Own Words

In addition to memorized vocal prayers, Jesus also prays using his own words. On more than one occasion, Jesus prays to the Father in public, where everyone can hear him (see Luke 10:21–22; John 11:41–42). During the Last Supper, Jesus speaks the longest vocal prayer recorded in the Gospels—his so-called “high priestly prayer”—in the presence of his chosen disciples when he prays for unity (see John 17:1–26). Perhaps most moving of all is the prayer during his agony in Gethsemane:

Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and pray.” . . . And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. . . . Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. 

(Matthew 26:36, 39–40, 42–44)

Note well that Jesus uses words to pray, even when he is alone. Obviously, he does not need to do this, but he chooses to. Notice also that Jesus even repeats himself when he prays, “saying the same words” (Matthew 26:44). His prayer is fully human. In the agony in Gethsemane, Jesus models for his disciples the importance of spontaneous and persistent vocal prayer to the Father, spoken from the heart.