People use language, both to pray, and to talk about prayer. To be sure, there is an aspect to prayer which exceeds language, as Paul writes: “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Even so, language is central to prayer.
Consider the following examples:
We can pray for someone, we can pray with someone, and we can pray over someone.We can pray against something and we can pray about something. We can pray concerning something, regarding something, or with regard to something.
We can pray on behalf of someone.
Some of these phrases may be purely synonymous: a distinction without a difference, then, would exist between some of these linguistic formulations.
The difference between some of these expressions may also be, e.g., the difference petitions and intercessions. Likewise, we can distinguish between praise, thanksgiving, and adoration.
Reflecting on the language we use to talk about prayer can lead us toward insights and toward an enriching diversity in our practices of prayer.
