Learning To Pray Out Loud The Hard Way

Praying out loud isn’t an easy thing for a lot of people. Part of it, I believe, is that praying is such an intimate thing that some of us feel awkward about doing it in front of someone else, even if it’s our own child. And you don’t have to be the quiet, shy person to feel disconcerted about it. I’ve seen typically outgoing, gregarious people absolutely tremble at the thought of praying in front of others.

I sort of learned the hard way. I was the member of a loosely-based support group that was looking to solidify its structure. I’ve been blessed with a certain amount of organizational and leadership skills (and a fair dose of not knowing how to say, “no”), so I took the reins and became the group’s Director. I was really looking forward to helping develop a direction and strong foundation, but one thing scared me to death. I knew I would be expected to pray before meetings and official gatherings. I could have delegated it to someone else, but I knew this was something I needed to do.

The first time I had to pray before the group I thought my heart was going to flop right out of my chest. I was so nervous at the time I probably wouldn’t have even recognized it was my heart lying on the floor. Nonetheless, I just did it. Nothing more, I just did it. I don’t think it was the most elegant thing to ever come out of my mouth, but God received the glory and I grew a little bit. And my heart didn’t flop out.

The second time was a little bit easier. Not a lot, but a little. The third time was much easier. By the fourth time, I was rocking and rolling. I was praying for things that no one had even requested prayer for. Obviously, the more you do something, the better you get.

There’s no more to the lesson than that. It’s one of those things that falls into the category of it’s-the-right-thing-to-do-so-just-do-it. The first time you do it won’t be earth-shattering, nor will you probably even be happy with what you say. That’s OK. You’ve taken a step to stretch your faith. God’s still there and He’s hearing you just the same. And you’ve developed another tool for reaching your child with the salvation message.