... if we can put into practice sharing our stories without fear, it emboldens us to share God’s story with others through praying out loud.
Those who know me have heard me say, “Your story is your story.” When sharing our personal stories, no matter what they might be related to, they are unique to us and no one can dispute them. Even if others judge our “feelings” on a matter to be incorrect, they are still our feelings. Does that mean we don’t listen to their point of view? No, not at all. But just because someone has determined that what we are feeling is wrong, it's still how we feel in that moment. Eventually, we may come around to their way of thinking, but, for now, this is your story and should not be devalued.
Everyone’s feelings should be considered and have value. We should not have a critical spirit toward another person’s story. Some of us, though, may find that we hold back what we share around certain people because, inevitably, no matter what we say, our thoughts on a matter will be devalued. This is where the power of “Your story is your story” comes into play, and no matter how someone else interprets it, you know what took place, what you were feeling, and can adopt a spirit of forgiveness for those who are disputing your claims.
You might be asking, "What does this have to do with praying out loud?" I believe it lays a foundation for the fact that the heartfelt words that come out of our mouths always have value. That if we can put into practice sharing our stories without fear, it emboldens us to share God’s story with others through praying out loud.
I’m sure we all can remember the first time we heard someone pray out loud. I know I can! I wasn’t a believer yet, but I attended Mothers of Preschoolers where there was a time of sharing and prayer. They would go around the circle and each mother would pray out loud. This is where I thought to myself, “Wait what? I didn’t sign up for this! I don’t know how to pray like these other women!” I carefully listened to each mother’s prayer and then stumbled through my own prayer when it came to my turn. In hindsight, it’s pretty silly that I thought these Christian mothers would be judging my prayer, but, sadly, as I shared earlier, we may have had experiences where we have been judged for something else we said, which carries over into praying out loud.
Even now, I have such empathy for new believers or those who grew up in a faith tradition that didn’t pray out loud, when they say, “Oh, well I’m not very good at praying out loud.” Or others who stay quiet in a prayer circle. The fact of the matter is, as believers in Jesus, all of our prayers have their origin from the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who prompts us to pray when we open ourselves up to God’s will in our prayer life. Now who can dispute that?!
We have a great man of faith from the Bible who struggled similarly…
"Then Moses said to the Lord, 'Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.' But the Lord said to him, 'Who has made the human mouth? Or who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say.'” Exodus 4:10-12
God had a mission for Moses, but, sadly, Moses still refused to speak out loud due to fear. The mission was instead accomplished through Aaron who received the words to say from Moses.
May we choose to believe that the Lord will speak through us and not be fearful of praying out loud. Each one of the prayers we speak out loud in the hearing of others is a mission from God.
Let’s be spurred on to overcome our fear of praying out loud in a group setting by looking at some of the ways the Lord uses our spoken prayers to accomplish His mission:
The Mission of Encouragement
Something prayers are not is a means to “preach” or to present poetic, flowery speech. Our prayers are never to be “composed” with the idea of what others are thinking about them, whether if they are being judged or nominated for the “hall of prayer.” Sometimes the simplest prayer with the fewest words can have such a profound impact on the person you might be praying for. Our prayers come from a deep abiding with the Holy Spirit who will speak through us when we adopt this posture.
The Word of God is very much intertwined with our prayer life. The more time you spend in the Word, the richer your prayer life will become. The Holy Spirit will sometimes bring to mind Scripture verses to pray out loud over a person to encourage them in whatever they might be going through.
Your story may play a part in how you pray encouragement over someone as you may have walked a similar road that they are. Allow your heartfelt words of encouragement to pour over them as you recall God’s faithfulness to you.
By putting these things into practice, you will become more comfortable praying out loud in a group setting.
The Mission of Comfort
No matter how uncomfortable we might be to pray out loud, it is important to overcome that fear for the sake of comforting another.
When I was a new believer, I was introduced to a woman who had recently lost her sight. We became prayer partners. Together, we would meet to pray for each other and for others and to memorize Scripture together. As I’m sure you’ve heard, people without sight have other senses that are heightened. Whenever my friend would pray out loud over a difficulty I was going through, she would always say at the end of the prayer that she could feel my whole body relaxing (even though she wasn’t touching me). And she wasn’t wrong. I did feel such a peace come over me as she prayed words of comfort on my behalf.
May we overcome our fear of praying out loud so that others can experience rest and peace as the words of our prayer washes over them with comfort.
The Mission of Courage
This past September a dear friend of mine died after a year-long fight with cancer. The way she leaned on the Lord and her faith through it all was inspirational! She would still show up to Wednesday night Bible study with her chemo bag attached. Even though she was going through so much she was always thinking of others and always asking for others welfare. When my daughter was going through a particularly hard time, she led the charge for everyone to lay hands on my daughter and pray out loud over her.
As my friend was nearing the end of her life, she was no less faithful and no less trusting the Lord, but she expressed fears of her own. I admired that so much because she was being real in the moment, which was totally understandable!
The Lord brought to mind a Psalm to pray out loud over my friend during my last visit with her. So many of the Psalms show the tension between fear and faith, that despite being fearful, there is still faith. We can absolutely read Scripture over someone as a prayer. The Psalms make the perfect prayers for courage. The Holy Spirit brought courage to my friend through this Psalm and through all the prayers prayed out loud over her in her final days. She died peacefully in her sleep and is with the Lord.
When we overcome our fear of praying out loud in a group setting, we are putting aside our selfish worries and, instead, placing others above our own comfort. In doing so, we bring encouragement, comfort, or courage to those the Lord has placed in our paths to pray over. Not only that, but there could be someone else in the hearing of that prayer who needed the same encouragement, comfort, or courage, and now you have multiplied the blessing!
Most especially, when we overcome our fear of praying out loud, we are bringing glory to God by being His mouthpiece.
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