Ask a Pastor Column

Q:  I pray daily, but silently. I was told I need to pray aloud. Is this so?

A: Prayer can be out loud or you can pray just thinking the words in your heart. We know Hannah prayed without talking when she asked God for a son because it made the High Priest think she was drunk (I Samuel 1:12-14)! Yet her prayers were answered. God knows the thoughts of our heart (Jeremiah 17:9-10; Mark 2:6-8) and every detail of our lives, both seen and unseen (Matthew 10:29-31). Jesus even advised his disciples to pray secretly so that no one could hear (Matthew 6:5-6), because even when no one else hears us, God still does! So we can have confidence He hears our prayers even when no one else does.

I’d like to take this question one step farther though and talk about some guiding principles for how we should pray. We have many alternatives to choose from: we can pray silently or out loud. We can pray standing, sitting, kneeling or walking. We can pray together and by ourselves (this article could be a Dr. Seuss book!). Even though there is no one perfect way to pray, we can learn ways to aid our prayers by matching our manner of prayer with the situation. For example, I’ve found kneeling with closed eyes and a bowed head is helpful during times when I need to express humility to God (James 4:10). But when I’m driving out to an emergency situation, that wouldn’t be the best time to close my eyes, fold my hands, and bow my head. Instead, that would be a great time to offer up a short, silent prayer to God for His guidance and protection.

This is subjective and we are all free to experiment to find what works for us. Just remember that our location, posture and manner of praying can affect our attitude and approach. Matching the right method with a given situation can help us pray effectively in all kinds of situations (I Thessalonians 5:17).

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