Hello
Just wondering, does god hear prayers that you say in your mind?
Sometimes when I pray, I speak while praying and I know that god hears me then but I often pray in my mind, does god hear me then? also do I have to say Amen out loud at the end of the prayers in my mind?
Does the bible say how we should pray? and also just wondering why do we put our hands together while praying?
Thanks
God knows every thought that you think, so of course He hears if you're praying silently
The Bible does give a few clues as to how we should pray, and not pray. Check out Matthew 6:5-14...
“When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They like to stand in synagogues and on street corners to pray so that everyone can see them. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.
“When you pray, don’t ramble like heathens who think they’ll be heard if they talk a lot. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven,
let your name be kept holy.
Let your kingdom come.
Let your will be done on earth
as it is done in heaven.
Give us our daily bread today.
Forgive us as we forgive others.
Don’t allow us to be tempted.
Instead, rescue us from the evil one.
“If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures.
Some people believe that we need to recite the prayer Jesus gave above, word-for-word. Others believe it's a model prayer that we just need to form our own personalized prayers around. I believe we should observe the "formula" of that prayer, but use our own words. It starts with a reverent greeting, followed by ackowledgement of God's sovereignty, words of submission to God's will, requests for things we want and need, repentance and forgiveness (from God, for ourselves, or for others), and prayers for whatever spiritual needs we have for the future (strength, protection, help with temptation, etc).
I've also heard, as someone else posted, that the gesture of putting our hands together is simply to give us something to do with them, so we don't fidget around. It's also a gesture of submission that you see in some earthly cultures, and that fits here as well. Showing your hands together like that shows that you aren't hiding anything, you have no weapon, you aren't in a defensive stance, and so on. I don't always do that when I pray.
Not all prayers have to follow a strict formula, though. I think God understand that sometimes we're upset, scared, hurt, angry, or overwhelmed, and He doesn't expect us to sit down and formulate a "proper prayer" or else He'll just ignore us. I think He'd much rather hear your heart than some neat, tidy recitation that you don't really mean.
