Someone once asked me. “Why should we bother to voice our prayers when God already knows our thoughts?” In response I have come up with four benefits to praying aloud. This is an adaptation from a series I did on my old blog.
Silent Prayer is Fine
Using our tongue to pray is by no means the only way to pray. In fact, it is possible to pray aloud for the wrong motives Matthew 6:5-8.
We must be careful how we pray but I am convinced that voiced prayer offers at least four benefits over silent prayer.
Team Prayer
Praying aloud allows those with you to agree with you in prayer. For some reason there is great power when people agree in prayer.
“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 16:19-20
Perhaps, part of the power comes from numbers. We see this in nature. A pack of wolves are more powerful than a lone wolf. But there is a spiritual component as well.
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12.
Think of it this way, when people agree with you it is like they amplify your prayers. When you pray silently no one can agree with you because they do not know what you are saying. You might as well be praying in tongues or in a foreign tongue.
When you send a delegation to the king wouldn’t you want more than one person? God wants His body to work together. God calls us to pray in the closet but he also calls us to pray in agreement with each other.
What do you think?
- Do you find it easier or harder to pray with others? Why?
- What keeps you from agreeing with others in prayer?
- Do you feel your prayers are more effective when you pray with others?
Praying is a group is great as long as you can focus on Christ. Praying to be seen as spiritual by your friends is not the way.
I know when I hear others worshipping the Lord it can change my attitude… when I hear people thanking Him, it can encourage my own thankfulness… when I hear others praying with faith, it increases my faith… so yes, i can say praying in a corporate way or with one certainly has it's benefits… but I also know that when I am alone & I am afraid… outloud or in my head… praying always helps me too…
I find that when I pray out loud I can focus on God easier. When my thoughts drift of it is obvious and I can refocus on God. When I pray in my head it is easy for me to get distracted and forget what I was praying about.
I also find it is easier for me to connect with God. I feel like he is really there, and I am not just imagining Him.
Also, life and death are in the power of the tongue. It is good for me to get in the habit of speaking words of life when I talk to God.
Right on
There is a lot to say about confessing "with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead…"
There is power in the spoken word. Especially when spoken in the name of Christ or at God's command by the power of the Spirit. When God created the world He chose to speak everything into existence. (Gen. 1) Whenever God had a message for His people He didn't think it to them. He sent a prophet to speak His word to them. "Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee…" (Jer. 1:17) And all that the prophets spoke happened at one time or another. The spoken word is far more powerful than the thought word. There is even an instance of a man speaking a foolish vow to the Lord with a consequence. (Judges 11:30-40) The man's reason for keeping his vow was that he had "opened [his] mouth unto the Lord" and he could not go back on his word.
Very well said, I couldn't agree with you more. Corporate prayer is a necessity as well as individual prayer, in knowing God for ourselves. Praying with other is definitely a boost in the spirit, anytime I'm having trouble with an issue that may seem unbearable I know I need to link up with another believer and pray it through. Any types of prayer backed up by faith and cemented by love is effective, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). Although we can not simply ask someone to agree in prayer that God manifest himself to us if we are not seeking Him in personal prayer and fellowship. There are some things in personal prayer I have recieved that I don't think I would have in a corporate setting. To stay on point; there is always power in numbers," Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Prov.11:14). There are many scriptures that highlight the bound of unity and the force it brings. My pastor always give the illustration of praying in agreement with other believers like a battering ram in the hands of an army. If each soldier just used individual hammers to knock down the enemies door it would not budge, but when all those individual forces are combined there is power to break the doors and overcome!! With that said, we must take into account its possible for many people to be praying at one time but not accomplishing anything because they are not in agreement. Anyway, great responses and great topic, look forward to part two.
Often when I pray aloud I find myself saying things that I would have never thought. The mouth speaks what is in the heart, which is the core of who we are. Our minds cannot always comprehend God’s ways because they are finite. I believe He gives us a mouth to declare His truth, and His truth is what sets us free! And, the more we speak the truth of His word over our lives and situations, the more the mind is renewed to believe it!
Wandering in here late (as usual ) …
So far so good, generally. My quibble relates to “when two or three are gathered together” and the appeal to this statement of our Lord:
It’s a category mistake to apply this statement to group praying. I’m not even sure it’s even appropriate to apply it to any sort of praying at all. Yes, yes, I know this is how it’s commonly been read, even by lights as bright as St. Chrysostom (cf. the Prayer of Chrysostom that conclues Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer). But, the sole items in vv15-19 that can be pressed to indicate that prayer is in view anywhere in these verses is in verse 19: the “ask” and “my Father will do.” And if these details are pertinent, they are so only by assuming that “ask” refers to a petition directed at the Father — a reasonable deduction, but not a necessary one.
Rather, the entire paragraph (vv. 15-19) are treating how to deal with a sinning brother. As such, these verses are directed to Jesus’ disciples, to guide their ruling of the infant Church as His Apostles, and later to guide the Elders of the churches in their discipline of the flock. The promises about binding and loosing relate to disciplinary decisions by the Apostles and, later, the Elders of the Churches. and the “agreement” mentioned in verse 19 must certainly relate to agreement about how or what to be done with respect to the sinning brother, whose transgression has reached the point where it is told to the Church. For a model of this very activity, see the first Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.
None of this (what I’ve urged above) bears negatively on what is urged in the blog about the value of spoken prayer.
Still …