“Unspoken”

In the world of Christianese, the word “unspoken,” or the phrase, “I have an unspoken,” is often listed. 

If you have an “unspoken”, it means that you have a prayer request that you’d rather not be made public. 

A July, 2022 article on theunion.com titled “Chaplain’s Satirical List of Troublesome Faith Words” defines “unspoken prayer request” as “when someone requests prayer for themselves but won’t fess up to the thing they did. Or a sly prayer for a sinner who doesn’t know they’re being prayed for.”

Okay, that could be true, and probably why “unspoken” is considered Christianese by many.

I’m not a fan of Christianese — in fact, some Christianese makes me clench my teeth — but there’s a flip side to the word “unspoken” when it comes to prayer requests.

It’s also a way of saying, “Someone I know needs prayers, but the subject needs to remain private.” 

I do believe in prayer. I believe in praying for people. But sometimes people may be too embarrassed to share a prayer request. Or it is about a subject that the person wants to keep private or that needs to be kept private.

So I’m one of those who will say, “A friend of mine has an unspoken prayer request.” 

Usually, I’ll say it like that because the person has said, “You can ask for prayers but I’d rather keep the subject private.” 

So I’ll honor the person’s request. 

God knows what the person needs, and often, a “spoken” is not necessary. 

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.