Let your guard down and be okay with telling your “unspoken” to some folks who you really trust. Everyone around you is struggling with sin in some form or fashion, so you’re not catching anyone by surprise. (Most of the time I think it’s safe to say “unspoken” are related to one’s personal struggle with a specific sin.)

Imagine yourself in a scenario. You’re at your church’s prayer meeting and everyone is going around making prayer requests. One person gives a few requests but then says, “And an unspoken.”

If you’re the person praying, what do you do with that? I know the easy answer—and likely the right thing to do in the moment—is to simply pray along the lines of, “Lord, you know this person’s needs. We ask that you meet them, and provide wisdom as he navigates this situation or decision.”

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. And let me be abundantly clear: I don’t think anyone is in the wrong for asking for an “unspoken.” But I think they’re missing out and need to encouraged to be open and transparent.

Some “unspoken” remain that way because of an individual’s pride, embarrassment, or shame. None of those are good reasons to not be specific about the request, but it does show that there needs to be wisdom in the request. At our church, the men and women are separated in prayer groups. The women don’t need to know some of the men’s prayer requests and vice versa. In the same way, I can understand why an individual wouldn’t want to air his “dirty laundry” to everyone in the room.

But someone needs to know about it. You need to have someone interceding for you, being with you through whatever it is you’re going through. It’s hard for another believer to walk with you when they don’t know what you’re actually experiencing.

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