I am one of those persons that doesn’t prefer to pray in front of people out loud. I can write a prayer of what is in my heart, pretty well, but I feel inadequate when doing it out loud. It probably has to do with my shy personality, my feelings of inadequacy and not wanting to sound boastful or proud. I know that God listens to our hearts more than our words, which is comforting to me.
Maybe you are like me in that respect but I hope you know as I do that I don’t have to say a fancy prayer or have all the right words to say all the time because God knows what is in my heart. Prayer is so important in my life but I always feel like I need to pray more! I would like to share a few things that I have learned about prayer:
To be clear, prayer is the natural impulse of faith and the vigilant devotion of hope. In prayer, we pour out our hearts’ desires to God in adoration, confession, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving as we submit ourselves to His will. Prayer is a passionate affair. It involves all of who we are and aspire to be before God.
Encouragingly, there is no biblical reason to believe that praying out loud is more or less effective than praying silently. We may do either. Scripture is full of examples of public prayers offered on all sorts of occasions, from Solomon’s long prayer at the dedication of the temple (1 KINGS 8) to Christ’s four-word cry of agony (and unshaken hope) from the cross (Matthew 27:46). Yet, Jesus also taught His disciples that our Father hears prayers offered silent or in secret, and Paul tells us the Spirit who strengthens our faith and hope through prayer also intercedes for us with groans too deep for words (Romans 8:26)
There are good reasons why we would do well to pray silently on some occasions and aloud on others. Jesus, for example, warns His disciples about the hypocrites who love to pray in public places in order to be seen by others. Being thought holy, Jesus notes that is all the reward they will receive (Matthew 6:5). Hypocrites are devoid of secret prayer; the one who loves God, however, is constant in secret prayer..and ready to pray aloud when a proper occasion arises.
And the occasion will arise. Prayer, as a core devotion of the church (Acts 2:42) is not just a private act of individual believers but a shared activity. One way we share in prayer is to pray out loud with others for mutual encouragement and edifications. Prayer also should be taught. Jesus taught the disciples how to pray by instruction and by examples, So also, ministers teach those whom they serve, parents teach their child, and we all teach one another as we pray together. Love for others, in other words, compel us not just to pray for them in secret but at times to pray aloud with them
I was at the dentist the other day getting work done for a crown! I am blessed that I have a dentist that is Christian along with several of his staff so I get to hear Christian music in the background while they are working in my mouth! As I was praying, silently (because they had instruments in my mouth, lol), that God would keep me calm during the procedure, the song that was playing was “Your Great Name”. Right after my silent prayer I heard the words: “Redeemer, my healer, almighty, My savior, defender, You are my King, Jesus the name of Jesus…” Perfect words to calm and bless me. Thank you Jesus for answered prayers!
In conclusion, however we pray, we are confident that our God cares for us and always hears the prayers of His people.
Jerri