Sane Prayers

In the book of 1 Samuel, we see Hannah praying silently. As she continued praying before the Lord, the priest Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. In her day and in her culture, it was uncommon to pray silently. Those around Hannah thought she was crazy.

Yesterday, one of our teens was talking to me about his week, and I asked him what God had been speaking to him. He told me that as he was walking down the street, he started to pray the “Our Father” prayer. Then he felt God’s “encouragement” and started to pray out loud. Then people started to walk by, and he thought to himself that he wasn’t embarrassed and didn’t need to be embarrassed to pray. He said that everyone around probably thought he was crazy, but it didn’t matter.

In silence or with speech, those who pray are often viewed as being a little crazy.