Recently my Pastor has been preaching a sermon series on prayer and this has been reflected in my writing as of late. Somehow his sermons and my study have aligned in a harmonious way. His latest sermon taught us about praying aloud and why it is important that we do. Something that seems to have become less common in our culture today.
I will be first to admit that I do not pray aloud as often as I probably should. Especially after hearing all the great examples of praying allowed my pastor was able to show us from the Bible. Yet, it still did not click with me until I stumbled across a particular verse in my personal study.
Acts 16:25 (KJV)
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
While I have read through Acts countless times this verse had not really caught me in this way before. You see Paul and Silas are in prison for proclaiming God and casting out a demon in the name of the Lord. Yet we still find them praying to God and praising His name in the jail cell. And they are not doing it quietly either. They are praying and praising loud enough for all the other prisoners to be able to clearly.
In a situation that would cause most of us today to be afraid and quiet due to the fear of further punishment. Paul and Silas are found praying aloud with no fear what so ever. And the next thing we read is that God honored the fact that they were not ashamed and caused an earthquake that through open the cell doors.
Acts 16:26 (KJV)
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
As I stopped to think about how God responded in such a mighty way to their prayers. I realized that praying aloud does so much more than simply making you request known to God. It is a testimony to all those who can hear you and builds their faith in God. And by praying aloud you are proving that you are not ashamed of God. Which in turn keeps you on the right side of Jesus’s statement in Matthew chapter ten.
Matthew 10:32-34 (KJV)
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Not only does praying aloud do all that, but I do believe it is able to make an impact in your own prayer life. You are able to stay focused on your prayer by saying it out loud. Plus it will build your faith in God. Because there is just something about having that true out-loud conversation with your creator that can not be compared to anything else.
Of course, God is able to hear you when you pray silently in your mind. In fact, I say you should still pray to yourself at times because some situations call for it. For instance, if you share an office with someone and are about to eat lunch it would not be polite to loudly say “LORD THANK YOU FOR THIS FOOD….”
Just know that praying aloud is something good for us to do and not something that should be lost from our faith. Because as we have seen God will honor prayers spoken out and that simple act carries a far deeper meaning than we often realize. Also if this subject interests you then be on the lookout for an upcoming article that brings to light more evidence from the Bible which proves we should be praying allowed.
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