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I agree 100%. Not that it must be soundless. You might shout from the top of your lungs - but to God only. Like on a mountain or in a forest, alone. If you're praying in a gathering of people, then let it be silent... Or so soft that nobody hears you. Let it reach the ears of God only, not other human beings. It's not for them to hear in the first place. It's very intimate. Like in the marriage bedroom, one whispers to their lover the most loving words just for them, not for Mr. Smith next door or for Mrs. Johnson across the street to join in hearing. That would have been very, very awkward and out of place.
God wants to be the only recipient of our prayers. Not share it with the whole world... If somebody overheard your prayer, but you didn't intend it, so be it, God will reward it the same way as if nobody heard it. We don't control all the circumstances, God knows it very well. He is just. He will certainly reward our best and most genuine effort.
But when a prayer is performed publicly, aloud or even silently in front of another person or people with the conscious intent of them hearing you or inferring that you're in prayer to God, it's a bad sin of hypocrisy and lack of true faith. Forbidden by Jesus!!!
I've always had this strange problem whenever it comes to prayer. When it comes to silent prayer, I can go on and on and have no issues what's expressing on my heart to say. It comes natural to me to pray silently, even around other groups of people. However, when it comes to praying out loud and specifically leading people in prayer, I can't ever think of what to say, even when I get prayer requests it's still a struggle. I would just kind of stumble through the prayer until I hit everything on the list. I was always told "The more you do it, the better you get at it", but I lead prayers weekly for a year as my fraternity's chaplain and it still didn't get better. It's not an issue with public speaking, I'm in front of a classroom of students talking every day at work.
I just don't know what it is, I always avoid try to avoid leading prayers and praying out loud because of this. I see other these other Christians, in fact, it seems like every other Christian I know has no problem praying their heart out loud, but I just can't seem able to do so. Does anyone else have or had this problem? What helped?
Hello TX_MATT.I've always had this strange problem whenever it comes to prayer. When it comes to silent prayer, I can go on and on and have no issues what's expressing on my heart to say. It comes natural to me to pray silently, even around other groups of people. However, when it comes to praying out loud and specifically leading people in prayer, I can't ever think of what to say, even when I get prayer requests it's still a struggle. I would just kind of stumble through the prayer until I hit everything on the list. I was always told "The more you do it, the better you get at it", but I lead prayers weekly for a year as my fraternity's chaplain and it still didn't get better. It's not an issue with public speaking, I'm in front of a classroom of students talking every day at work.
I just don't know what it is, I always avoid try to avoid leading prayers and praying out loud because of this. I see other these other Christians, in fact, it seems like every other Christian I know has no problem praying their heart out loud, but I just can't seem able to do so. Does anyone else have or had this problem? What helped?
I've always had this strange problem whenever it comes to prayer. When it comes to silent prayer, I can go on and on and have no issues what's expressing on my heart to say. It comes natural to me to pray silently, even around other groups of people. However, when it comes to praying out loud and specifically leading people in prayer, I can't ever think of what to say, even when I get prayer requests it's still a struggle. I would just kind of stumble through the prayer until I hit everything on the list. I was always told "The more you do it, the better you get at it", but I lead prayers weekly for a year as my fraternity's chaplain and it still didn't get better. It's not an issue with public speaking, I'm in front of a classroom of students talking every day at work.
I just don't know what it is, I always avoid try to avoid leading prayers and praying out loud because of this. I see other these other Christians, in fact, it seems like every other Christian I know has no problem praying their heart out loud, but I just can't seem able to do so. Does anyone else have or had this problem? What helped?
I've always had this strange problem whenever it comes to prayer. When it comes to silent prayer, I can go on and on and have no issues what's expressing on my heart to say. It comes natural to me to pray silently, even around other groups of people. However, when it comes to praying out loud and specifically leading people in prayer, I can't ever think of what to say, even when I get prayer requests it's still a struggle. I would just kind of stumble through the prayer until I hit everything on the list. I was always told "The more you do it, the better you get at it", but I lead prayers weekly for a year as my fraternity's chaplain and it still didn't get better. It's not an issue with public speaking, I'm in front of a classroom of students talking every day at work.
I just don't know what it is, I always avoid try to avoid leading prayers and praying out loud because of this. I see other these other Christians, in fact, it seems like every other Christian I know has no problem praying their heart out loud, but I just can't seem able to do so. Does anyone else have or had this problem? What helped?
I used to have this problem and its root is fear.
I would even go as far as saying not praying out loud is a sin of omission and even writting this I feel challenged to do it more myself.
I also have trouble with extemporaneous prayers out loud. Maybe it's an introvert problem.I teach for a living, so I'm okay giving speeches in front of a group when I have plenty of content; but I generally have trouble with public speaking when there's not enough content to fill the time, and you have to keep talking anyway. Public prayers are like that for me: "God, thank you that we can be together today. Please help Alice to do well on her exams, and please heal Bob from his cancer." Okay, now I've said what I have to say, but I've still got a couple of minutes to fill. I guess I could give God more details about Alice and Bob, but God already knows all about both of them, so it feels silly telling God what he already knows. So I get stuck.
What about praying over a group like blessing the food at a gathering or in a bible study group where they open/close in prayer? Like if in Sunday school the teacher asks a person to pray over some requests/the people there?
I get that. I guess my reasoning is more that when I pray it is a confession of Christ, and that alone is enough to cause the demons to tremble and to remember that the victory has been won by Jesus on the cross. So even if that does "egg them on" so to speak, they can do nothing, for they have already lost.I hesitate to pray aloud for the sake of demons hearing me. It would feel as though I'm goading them, or escalating potential retaliatory evil by doing so. I prefer my focus to be on the Lord alone in such cases.
Besides, God knows I'm praying, what with His telepathic skills, and that's enough. If He thinks it's vital that the demons know this, I'm sure He tells them anyway: "Oh hey guys, by the way, she's praying to Me right now. Waddya think of that? HAH!"
I hesitate to pray aloud for the sake of demons hearing me. It would feel as though I'm goading them, or escalating potential retaliatory evil by doing so. I prefer my focus to be on the Lord alone in such cases.
Besides, God knows I'm praying, what with His telepathic skills, and that's enough. If He thinks it's vital that the demons know this, I'm sure He tells them anyway: "Oh hey guys, by the way, she's praying to Me right now. Waddya think of that? HAH!"
Your first point may be true, but rather irrelevant (I mean no offense). Think of the demons Christ encountered; they were usually not too happy to see Him and they weren't actively seeking to hear what He spoke, but that didn't really matter because they had to respond to the Word when He spoke (Isaiah 55:10-11). And our prayer is aided by the Spirit of God (think Romans 8:26-27) who is the Spirit of Christ (Luke 3:22, Romans 8:9). So whether or not they're just chillin' around sipping coffee and eavesdropping while we pray (this does make me think of Screwtape Letters, though), they are going to hear.I doubt that demons bother to listen to prayer. They think it is all fake, so they would ignore whatever we say. They pay close attention to what we do, however.
I've always had this strange problem whenever it comes to prayer. When it comes to silent prayer, I can go on and on and have no issues what's expressing on my heart to say. It comes natural to me to pray silently, even around other groups of people. However, when it comes to praying out loud and specifically leading people in prayer, I can't ever think of what to say, even when I get prayer requests it's still a struggle. I would just kind of stumble through the prayer until I hit everything on the list. I was always told "The more you do it, the better you get at it", but I lead prayers weekly for a year as my fraternity's chaplain and it still didn't get better. It's not an issue with public speaking, I'm in front of a classroom of students talking every day at work.
I just don't know what it is, I always avoid try to avoid leading prayers and praying out loud because of this. I see other these other Christians, in fact, it seems like every other Christian I know has no problem praying their heart out loud, but I just can't seem able to do so. Does anyone else have or had this problem? What helped?
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