Does it matter if you pray in silence or out loud?

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oldethennew

Banned
#41
Feb 28, 2016
11,311
2,972
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#41
it seems as though the both of us have reached a point in our lives,
that we really don't give a 'flitter' what 'others-think', = ONLY our CREATOR!
OH, boy, has this taken a 'few-decades', but, of course, 'ALL IS WORTH IT',
is there anything ELSE than HIM,JESUS/CREATOR/SAVIOUR/,LORD/MASTER, CHRIST, ETC....
that we could possibly care/want to LIVE in this 'fallen-world FOR???

we wait on/for, Him...
 
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GaryA

Guest
#42
#42
lil_girl said:
i speak quietly, move my lips, kind of lip talk to the Lord then in my mind i meditate to the Holy Spirit kind of actually tell the Holy Spirit to tell this to God.
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According to what the scriptures tell us, you should not do this. You should always / usually talk to the Father - sometimes to Jesus - never to the Holy Spirit. Part of the reason Jesus died for us is so that we could have a 'direct' "hot-line" to God-the-Father. ( We are our own priest. )

You should [ always ] avail yourself of this 'proper' [ channel ] to God.

:)
 
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GaryA

Guest
#43
#43
With regard to "the devil can take it and run with it", annaschneider may have meant it in the sense of the devil doing things against you because he knows what you have said to God. ( based on the premise that the devil cannot "read" your mind and know your thoughts [ directly ] )

In other words:

~ if you pray in silence, the devil does not know what you said to God

~ if you pray out loud, the devil will hear you and act against you accordingly


That is the idea...


:)
 
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GaryA

Guest
#44
#44
If you are alone in a restaurant - do you pray aloud?

Most people would probably say 'no'.

Most of these same people seem to think that it is "unthinkable" if everyone prays in silence when there are two or more present.

Why? :confused:

( The real reason, of course, is "that is all they have ever known" - and, they are uncomfortable with anything else... )

Personally, I find it somewhat distracting when someone else is praying aloud as I am trying to pray silently.

There are times when we should pray aloud; however, I would think that it would [ usually ] be at a time when we are the only one praying. When two or more are praying at the same time - such as before a meal - it makes more sense to me that they all say their prayer of thanksgiving ( in the case of the meal ) in slience.

Maybe it is just me... :(


Praying aloud one-at-a-time at a "prayer meeting" seems reasonable; albeit, there is certainly nothing wrong with all of them praying silently, either. ;)


Sometimes I pray in-silence. Sometimes I pray out-loud.

I do both, but I would say that I probably pray mostly in-silence.


I am pretty sure that both in-silence and out-loud are acceptable to God.


:)
 
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GaryA

Guest
#45
#45
p_rehbein said:
For those of you who believe one should only pray in silence............when you do pray, do you ask God for anything?

If so........................................W H Y ?

Jesus said God ALREADY knows what you want/need BEFORE YOU EVEN ASK...............so, WHY ARE YOU PRAYING AT ALL?
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"You silly person..."

This can also be applied to praying out-loud.

Whether in-silence or out-loud, God wants us to make the effort to ask [ what He already knows ] simply for the reason of us making the effort. In other words, if we make the effort to ask -- we are not "forgetting God" and "just leaving it up to Him"...

He wants us to communicate our thoughts, desires, etc. to Him.

He wants us to have a 'personal' relationship with Him.

:)
 
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limey410

Guest
#46
#46
annaschneider said:
A lot of times I walk around my apartment talking to God about anything and everything. However, someone told me that if you do not pray in silence, the devil can take it and run with it. What is your opinion? Are there any biblical references?
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Our Lord God dwells within us by the Holy Spirit, you can talk with Him any way you see fit and He will hear you. There are no "Golden Rules" to prayer. It is your daily conversation and personal relationship with Him that matters most. Don't concern yourself with the machinations of prayer. Paul writes that we pray without ceasing, that can only realistically occur within daily conversation with the Lord.
 
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toinena

Guest
#47
#47
I am off tracking now... But does anyone else here prat om different languages than your mothertongue? I pray in tongues, and Norwegian, but sometimes I find myself praying in English, Finnish or Swedish, espescially if I pray for somebody that can be associated with those languages. It is not a councious decision to do so, but I am lead to do so.
 
williamjordan

williamjordan

Senior Member
#48
Feb 18, 2015
495
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#48
It is permitted to pray in public; however, prayer is meant to be of humble origin. It is not intended to impress or attract notice,

"Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6.5-6)
​

Whether you pray out loud is irrelevant. What matters is that you pray with your heart.

Does God not know the heart of man?
 
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joaniemarie

Senior Member
#49
Jan 4, 2017
3,198
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#49
annaschneider said:
A lot of times I walk around my apartment talking to God about anything and everything. However, someone told me that if you do not pray in silence, the devil can take it and run with it. What is your opinion? Are there any biblical references?
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Hi Anna, What you are talking about is more about speaking out the truth instead of what we feel. For instance., When we affirm fear by saying it out loud instead of affirming what the Bible says about fear
"fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God..." we affirm our feelings over faith in what God says.

Many Christians say things like "I'm dying for a cupcake" or "I'd kill for those boots" Often times we don't even realize what we are actually affirming by our words. So instead we as Christians need to think about our words and chose them wisely before speaking them out.

What better way to cause fear to flee (and the devil for that matter) than to say at the times we are fearful Psalm 27:1 "

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

This will not only comfort us but it will instill the habit of using the Word of God to help us grow in faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So we will be affirming what God has told us to do when we fear. "What times I am afraid I will trust in You"

The enemy can't read our minds but he can hear our words and so can we. What we say is valuable. We don't have to let the enemy know we are afraid so he can send more fiery darts of fear our way. We instead can fight the good fight of faith by affirming what God says.

Like you I also talk to God at home all the time. "Thank you Father for those flowers. Wow Lord thank You so much for a working washing machine., Lord, work in Kathi's life and give her a revelation of Your love for her., Thank You for your promises and that we can know Your will for our lives........." Praying out loud and praying silently all have a place. Standing, sitting., walking, singing, all have a place when we pray. I often sing prayers.

Also many Christians pray in tongues and in that heavenly language we are able to pray more effectively for things we don't even know need praying for. And we can pray and sing in tongues anywhere at any time. It's one of the only gifts we can use at will on our own.

We have so many ways of praying and I agree with what you and many other Christians have already said here. Praying and talking to God is allowing Him in every aspect of our lives is what matters. Each way we decide to pray has a place.
 
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Spokenpassage

Guest
#51
#51
annaschneider said:
A lot of times I walk around my apartment talking to God about anything and everything. However, someone told me that if you do not pray in silence, the devil can take it and run with it. What is your opinion? Are there any biblical references?
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Whoever told you that doesn't believe in the sovereignty of God over Satan. In Job, he could do nothing without God permitting it.
 
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jb

Senior Member
#52
Feb 27, 2010
4,940
589
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#52
annaschneider said:
A lot of times I walk around my apartment talking to God about anything and everything. However, someone told me that if you do not pray in silence, the devil can take it and run with it. What is your opinion? Are there any biblical references?
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You should find This blog helpful...
 
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newlightseven

Guest
#53
#53
I was reading Luke and in it it directly said to pray with your mouth as well.
 
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