Praying Silent or Aloud - Christianity

[nirvanakat]

Do you believe that God hears all prayers? Silent and aloud, if they are truly sincere... I have been wondering this for a while.

Thanks,
-Katherine

[McCulloch]

The Bible teaches that God knows your every thought, prayer or otherwise. He is the ultimate voyeur. He also knows the end from the beginning, his will cannot be thwarted and Father knows best, so prayer is pointless and redundant.

[danus]

Yes he hears prayers, but he also knows the condition of our hearts. (and by condition of our heart I'm not talking about weather or not we might have high cholesterol)
Prayer is is what we use to express our thoughts and feelings to God. It is the Christian way to speak to God and it can be done silently or out loud.

[Kuan]

He is our father and he loves us. Think of prayer as a phone to communicate with him. Out loud or silent doesn't matter as long as its sincere.

[JehovahsWitness]

While the bible says God does ignore the prayers of the wicked, he indeed heres (listens favorably) to the sincere prayers of those seeking him.

[cnorman18]

While the bible says God does ignore the prayers of the wicked, he indeed heres (listens favorably) to the sincere prayers of those seeking him.

The key to that thought is that only God gets to decide who is "the wicked."

[McCulloch]

Prayer is is what we use to express our thoughts and feelings to God. It is the Christian way to speak to God and it can be done silently or out loud.

Why does anyone feel the need to express anything to an all knowing God? Do you think you can tell him something he does not already know? Do you think that God won't listen or won't hear unless you speak to him?

Think of prayer as a phone to communicate with him.

What does the word communicate mean?

com·mu·ni·cate [kuh-myoo-ni-keyt]
–verb (used with object)

1. to impart knowledge of; make known: to communicate information; to communicate one's happiness.

What knowledge do you presume to impart to God? What facts can you make known to the Almighty?

While the bible says God does ignore the prayers of the wicked, he indeed hears (listens favorably) to the sincere prayers of those seeking him.

Wouldn't he just deal favorably with those who seek him? If they ask for something outside of his will, will he not reject that request? If they (those who sincerely seek his will) miss asking for something that would be a blessing for them, from ignorance for example, will he withhold his blessing? Why pray?

[JehovahsWitness]

Wouldn't [God] just deal favorably with those who seek him?

Yes, the bible indicates this is indeed the case, although one can presume he deals with people on a "case by case" basis since there have been individuals (like King Saul) who sought communication with God (one can only presume "sincerely" in that he genuinely wanted to be in contact with him) but all communication was denied. God judges the heart and really, really wanting something does not mean a person is motivated by the qualities God values such as humility and purity of heart.

If they ask for something outside of his will, will he not reject that request?

Yes the bible indicates, like any loving and responsible parent, God will not grant a sincere request that is not for the long term benefit of the asker.

If they (those who sincerely seek his will) miss asking for something that would be a blessing for them, from ignorance for example, will he withhold his blessing? Why pray?

There is a scripture that says God loved us first, he does not wait for the uninstructed or the ignorant to learn before he extends his loving provisions to them. Thus not only does he (as Jesus said) extend physical blessings such as the rain and the sun and all other physical pleasures and benefits to all people but he made arrangement, through his son, to eventually satisfy all (legitimate) human desires. In order to benefit from the latter however, one must have what he judges to be a humble teachable heart and a love of truth. All humans will eventually be given the opportunity to prove they have both.

In the meantime the bible indicates God does indeed hear the sincere prayers of those that seek his will. Cornilius, the Roman Centurian mentioned in the bible book of Acts, was "favorably heard by God" even though, no doubt his profession meant he had done things that were not in line with Divine requirements. God searches the heart and is interested in all those which harbour "something good".

[Board]

To borrow from the movie on the life of CS Lewis, Shadowlands

Harry: Christopher can scoff, Jack, but I know how hard you've been praying; and now God is answering your prayers.
C. S. Lewis: That's not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me.

I always found this an insightful reason for prayer even though I no longer believe in prayer personally.