More Than Words

Yael Eckstein  |  November 1, 2026

David prays to God with more than words

Every Sunday, we begin the week with an inspirational lesson from the beloved Book of Psalms. Written by King David and others, these ancient songs and prayers have given voice to God’s people in moments of joy, sorrow, praise, and thanksgiving for thousands of years—and remain at the heart of both Jewish and Christian worship today.

Psalm 5:1-2

Listen to my words, Lord,
    consider my lament.
Hear my cry for help,
    my King and my God,
    for to you I pray.

I have always been fascinated by the way my Christian friends pray, especially the pastors I know. At any given moment, when asked to share a prayer, my pastor friends will pour forth a stream of eloquent words of prayer that came to them, right there in the moment.

You see, in the Jewish tradition, almost all prayer is liturgical. We have a set text for almost every situation, whether it’s praying for someone who is sick, thanking God for good news, or just praying each morning for a good day. Jewish tradition has ancient prayer formulas for almost every scenario.

There are pros and cons to each form of prayer. Spontaneous improvised prayer allows for a more authentic individual expression of the worshiper’s feelings in the moment, while our Jewish liturgy connects us to our ancestors over the centuries who prayed to God with those identical words.

I think about this as I read Psalm 5, “Listen to my words, LORD, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” In just two Bible verses, David asks God to hear his prayer using three different phrases.

First, he asks God to “listen” to his “words.” Then David asks God to “consider” his “lament.” The Hebrew word for “my lament” is hagigi, which can also be translated as “innermost thoughts” or “meditation.” David is asking God to go beyond the actual meaning of the words he is saying. He’s asking God to pay attention to what’s beneath the surface of his prayer, to “consider” his innermost thoughts, even if he hasn’t put them into words.

Finally, David asks God to hear his “cry for help,” or in the precise Hebrew, kol shavi—“the sound of my cry for help.”

The message of this Scripture is powerful—yes, we pray with our words. But, at the same time, we have thoughts that we don’t express. And beyond even those unspoken thoughts are emotions and spiritual needs we may not fully understand ourselves, but which God can discern by the tone of our prayer or the sound of our voice.

God hears everything—your words, your thoughts, and your emotions. Whether your prayer is expressed spontaneously or from words written centuries ago, God hears you.

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