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SHOULD PRAYER BE OUT LOUD OR SILENT? My parents taught me to pray silently, however, in the last year I have been told by christian friends of the church I attend that I should learn to pray out loud. I have been trying to learn to pray out loud, but I have been having a hard time with it and feel that it is difficult for me. So I was thinking about this tonight and thought I would explore the scriptures to see what they had to say. I wondered. How am I to pray? My comments and findings are in blue below. Matthew 6: And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Mark 11: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." Luke 11: He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And he said to them, When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation." And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him and he will answer from within, `Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your , how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 18: He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. John 14: Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the ; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. From reading these scriptures I am to follow these guidelines for prayer: 1. When you pray, do so secretly, not publicly. 2. Be brief. 3. Ask in faith, believing. 4. Forgive others first. 5. Be humble. Ask as a little . 6. Ask only for the bread for this day. 7. Ask in his name. Thanksgiving is a separate topic. In praying, we ask to receive -- in thanksgiving, we give thanks for what we have received. In the "Lord's Prayer" there is no thanksgiving. We pray for our daily bread; we give thanks when we receive it. Jesus gave thanks to his Father on many occasions and he did so publicly. This is typical. Matthew 15: He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. The general petition, "Your kingdom come" was fulfilled eternally when Jesus died at Calvary. Therefore, this is now a matter for thanksgiving rather than prayer. One should thank the Father for his kingdom on earth, not pray for it's coming. It is ingratitude to repeat an answered prayer. True prayer is according to the instructions and example of Jesus. Prayer just for the sake of praying is vain. Would an earthly parent be pleased with a that was continually asking for this and that, and that again and again? Would an earthly parent be pleased with a that came asking habitually, or often, or repeatedly, or lengthily? Would God be pleased with a person that continually went to the alter confessing the same sins in prayer? In general, and in the light of the above, it is my belief that our Father would have his come to Him to hallow Him and to ask for our needs for today. Praying habitually, at set times, or just because one "feels like praying" is vain. Prayer is not what one does to get a spiritual fix or a "feel good" experience. Jesus said, in John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." All prayer is vain when it comes from one who does not keep his commandments, and proves that one does not love the Lord. We go to the Father in prayer when we have a need for something that only He can supply, not to show our devotion to Him. We prove our devotion to him by keeping his commandments. So I can conclude that we are to: pray in secret, be brief, avoid vain repetitions, ask only for today's needs, forgiving others and humbling oneself. Remembering that we are little going to a wise and loving Father when we pray. I guess my parents weren't too far off because this is how I was taught as a and I guess I shouldn't fret over not being able to get it. After all it's not about how we pray to man, it's how we pray to God and I don't think he really cares as long as our hearts are right. Blessings to everyone here tonight!  (¯`•♥•´¯) ¤`•.♥.•´ ¤ (¯`•♥•´¯) |
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Dear Sister and all, You know, it occurs to me that we are all taught by our parents or adults who are only capable of giving us the knowledge they were able to assimilate over their years prior to us coming into their care. My father was an evangelist when I was a child. I grew up hearing and speaking "King James English". "Blessed are thou my beloved child." "Thou should'st pray to the heavenly Father in repentance seeking His forgiveness for thy sin." I know this sounds silly today - but back then my father appeared (to those whose discernment was a tad lacking) as spiritual and close to God. My father kept God on a pedestal and at arms length. This was what he was taught and what he knew. I was in my early 30's before I went on a spiritual quest to find out just who God was and what he wanted from me. I found a God who was awesome and mighty - and who was totally approachable to me. I have learned to talk with God just as I talk to anyone else in my life. I have a father who is attentive to my needs. He knows my name, he knows my heart and he hears me - whether I pray silently, alone or when I pray in front of a group of people. What is important is that ongoing, personal relationship with Christ. What is important is that I keep the lines of communication open to Him. That I seek Him with all my heart. God made all of us different. I'm believing He did that for a purpose. Your personality is unique from the next because God wired you together. Your form of worship and prayer should be different from the next persons, you are different... the important thing is that we pray.
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12/11/2005 10:12 pm |
Hi Sheri, I'm like you when it comes to praying out loud - not for the same reason though. When I prayed out loud as a child I was frequently laughed at, corrected or told off for how I prayed, so by the time I was about 8 years old I just stopped and decided I would never pray out loud again - putting a bit of a curse on my life in many ways. It has taken years to understand that I can converse with Him as a friend any time and when in a group I pray not for the information of those who hear, but to God. If I mess up I know that He still 'got it'. I have been confident to pray with some friends because I also believe it is good when people can agree together. Matthew 18: 19-20 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." But your friends need to accept you the way you are now, whether you enjoy corporate prayer or not. I have enjoyed the prayer group here because for me it's like praying in private but still having people able to come into agreement. I'm still amazed and grateful that He's interested, listens and responds - whether to our liking or not  God bless you!
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12/13/2005 9:53 pm |
i'VE ENJOYED READING THESE POSTS..DIDN'T THINK i WOULD POST....BY THE TIME i HAD READ THE LAST REPLY SOMETHING HAD COME TO MY MIND AND i MOST HUMBLY OFFER IT. oops...sorry didn't know the caps were on. Has anyone ever heard any christians comment on how we should pray silently so Satan can't listen in...perhaps this might just apply to individual prayer...sorry no scriptural back up....would like to clear this up because I like to talk to him outloud as I go thru my day...but..then I remember what I've just referred to...Shalom
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Hi Sheri, I must praise you for being a true child of GOD, I just came in contact with your site, Wow what a child of GOD, it's so exciting to meet a true christian, Blesings in Jesus name. Praying in silent or loud, I do believe in what you say but it is in the setting that you are in. For instance, Jesus said to lay your hands on the sick and prey for them, now lets picture this, I come to one who ask me to prey for him, If I am going to do that then I have to do it right there and then, otherwise how am I going to obey the Lord by laying my hands on ? And this is a mistake that a lot of Christians make, ok, they say, and walk off,then forget to prey for that person, and haven't laid a hand on that person, well how can they( I must confess,I too have done this).Now here I am hands on and starting to prey, but the person have not heard a word that I have said. do you believe from your heart that you have realy touched that brother or sister heart when they have not heard a word that you said? Yes Jesus has heard and seen your heart but that person wants to join and agree with you too. I NEVER let any one lay they hands on me to prey if I can not hear what they are saying. What I have just done is open wide, a big door for deamons to start speaking to him, that I never preyed for them, dont believe him, he did not prey for you, he is just fooling you, ect: Now I have just raised doubt in ths person mind, at least the deamond has, and what is James saying about wavering faith? No sickness does NOT come from GOD but from the devil, so when I prey for any problem for some one, I am definately not going to WISPER to that deamond, he aint no friend if mine. I am going to SPEAK to it in hate and anger with all power and authorith that Jesus has given me over it. A few months back I started to receive some realy nasty thoughts in my mind, and our good LORD spoke to me, saying, "deamonds are not to speak to you , you are to SPEAK to them". When I am in bed, I have a talk wit my Lord ( yes that's what prey is, don't forget that ) and you could not hear me as I am always wispering. When I am preying with my two daughters, they can also hear me, and I want to hear them too. Now I am definately not going to stand outside my front door and shout out to the LORD in prey. I will be the bigest hipprocrit out. Besides I do not confess my sins to man. Remember we have a very, very loving GOD, who is always willing to forgive so if we are not preying the right way, then HE will forgive us and TEACH us through the HOLY SPIRIT. Now I close with this, and this is everything, I don't care how one preys, but first,--- ARE YOU PREYING!!! --- THEN PREY FROM YOUR HEART. GOD knows if it is sincere or not,-- AND THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT,-- or just a lot of words, (like a politician)don't know if I should have put that in so please forgive me. Please, I speak not to condem anyone, for who am I to judge a brother or sister of mine, when I am still trying to get this log out of my own eye?. But I speak in love and peace to all and hoping that it will help someone. With all love and blessings in Jesus name, Forry. P.S. Pack up, look up, get ready, Jesus is coming soon.
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Maranathabc,My dear friend, do you know that GOD knows what you are thinking of in your mind? but devil can't? Can you speak in tongues? that's your spirit intervening for you with GOD but the devil dont know what it's all about. Me personally , I don't care if the devil hears or not as my mind is focused on Jesus not him, don't keep your thoughts on the devil. Blessings, Forry
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