We love and value prayers. It is a means of grace through which we communicate with our heavenly Father. Every denomination has its way and the order of praying. Some have recorded recitation; others a formal order. In many African churches, prayer meetings or Sunday services are filled with intense energy. People are shouting; crying out loudly; stomping their feet; striking church walls; clapping thunderously; throwing themselves to the floor; and at times competing to be heard above the noise. It seems that some people believe the effectiveness of their prayers is connected to volume; or that God is more attentive to prayers expressed with greater intensity.
I’m going to boil those observations down to a question: does God require shouting in order to hear us better? Put another way, can those who can’t project their voices be confident that God is hearing them at all? To answer these questions, we must turn to the Bible. For it is the final authority on how God desires his children to approach him.
I want to invite Africans to move from noise-centred to God-centred prayers.
With all its richness and energy, African Christianity has a beautiful opportunity to embrace both passionate expression and quiet reverence. It is not my intention to suppress emotions or discourage passionate prayers. However, I do want to invite African believers to move from noise-centred prayers to those that are God-centred.
What Is Prayer?
Prayer is the essential practice in Christian life where a believer trusts and depends on God, drawing near to God and acknowledging our need for him. Prayer is communion with God. It is personal and reverent, faith-filled conversation between the believer and her Father in heaven. In the Bible, prayer is both a privilege and a command. God urges us to pray. By prayer, we submit ourselves to God’s will and deepen our relationship with him.
Through prayer, God communicates grace to his people and strengthens their faith. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,” says Hebrews 4:16, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Prayer, therefore, isn’t about fear or distance. It is the result of confidence to access our God through Christ.
What Did Jesus Teach About Prayer?
Our Lord Jesus Christ lived as a perfect model for his Church. Jesus teaches us what godly prayer looks like.
Some of his clearest instructions on prayer are recorded in Matthew 6:5-7: “When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.” Here Jesus warns his disciples about the temptation of public religion; that is, the desire to be noticed. Prayer can become a public performance, driven by the desire to be heard by others rather than God.
Prayer isn’t about volume or vigour but reverence.
Linked with the above temptation, Jesus warns against another misunderstanding. “When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). God doesn’t hear us because we speak louder or longer. We don’t catch his attention better with dramatic expression or shouting.
When our Lord’s disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he did so in Matthew 6:9-13. This prayer is simple, reverent, and God-centred. It begins with worship of God: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” and moves to God’s kingdom, God’s will, daily provision, repentance, and protection from evil. This is the perfect model. Prayer isn’t about volume or vigour but reverence. It isn’t about loudly declaring but humbly depending. Prayer doesn’t tower proudly over others but trusts in God’s power.
Quiet, Powerful Biblical Prayers
The Bible contains examples of all kinds of prayers. One is the sincere and powerful prayer of Hannah, without shouting (1 Samuel 1:12–13). Hannah was childless for years. This childlessness had caused much pain. The Bible tells us that she prayed to the Lord in deep anguish, asking for a child. “Hannah was speaking in her heart,” we read. “Only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard.” Hannah prayed silently. And her prayer was effective. God heard her prayers. And he answered them. She didn’t need to shout but only to pray with sincerity of heart and confidence in God.
Another example of this kind of quiet heart prayer is recorded in Nehemiah 2:4. While being questioned by the king, Nehemiah offered a silent prayer to God before answering.
The Bible corrects the idea that volume determines the effectiveness of prayer.
Of course, the two examples above don’t mean that our prayers must be silent or quiet. For in the Bible, we encounter passionate, emotional prayers. An obvious place to turn would be the Psalms. “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17). In many places, we read of believers crying out and aloud in sorrow, repentance, and lamentation, all in desperate dependence on God. The Bible doesn’t forbid impassioned prayers. However, it does correct the idea that volume determines the effectiveness of prayer. Fervent and passionate prayers aren’t seen in shouting but sincerity, faith and full dependence on God.
A quiet prayer offered in humility may be far more powerful than a loud one offered for attention.
