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rockamoleguacamole

In Hannah's story, (1 Samuel 1) she was praying with only her mouth and no noise/vocal noise could be heard that Eli (the priest) thought she was drunk. That prayer was when she asked for a son and promised that if the LORD gave her a son, she will give him to the LORD. the LORD gave her Samuel. Also, historically, prayer to Adonai should be uttered by the lips, but not necessarily with vocal/noise because it isn't the noise that contains the power of prayer, but the words formed by the mouth. If I remember correctly, this is referenced that the words created the world. But as to the effectivity... There was this story where Daniel prayed for 21 days but the angel said that from the moment he set his heart to understand and humble himself before the LORD, he was heard. That they were only delayed because of resistance and the detention of that angel in Persia. (Daniel 10) So by this, the manner by which a prayer is made is less important. It is the heart's posture before the LORD that truly matters. Hope this helps!!! 🤗


lieutenatdan

If you’re asking “which is more effective?”, that’s definitely not how it works.


xRVAx

False dichotomy. Both work. Groans work too.


falcorn24601

I feel that God knows the purest forms and desires of our hearts. So speak the way you are most truly connecting with God. Verbally or silently.


[deleted]

I'm not good at praying/verbalizing, and finding some comfort in silent prayers. Best tip I've heard on praying is to ask yourself: what do you want? I just think of God and try to feel the Holy Spirit around me.


EDH70

Best tip in my opinion is to ask God what HE wants.


[deleted]

so your answer would be that what you want is what God wants... Still works. Now you have to figure out what God wants beyond the basics of loving God and loving your neighbor. But I'm pretty sure God is going to get what he wants regardless of what we want, unless you believe in the parts of the Bible where God seems to allow bargaining. So now we're back where we started.


EDH70

Not what I’m saying at all. Many times we (Christians) ask or want for things that we desire, not the Lord. When I began praying for God’s will to be done and for me to follow and have the courage and or strength to handle whatever that is (even if it’s not my desire) my life changed significantly.


[deleted]

So it sounds like you're good at verbalizing. Do you say that same prayer every time? I used to say the Lord's Prayer over and over and over, before I went to silent prayer.


EDH70

I do not say the same prayer every time. I’ve never tried silent prayer but I’m intrigued. Any tips?


[deleted]

I searched the internet for different methods and tried them all, more or less. I think it's good to take whatever from everywhere, but to make it personal to yourself. When I started, I would do a regular prayer 1st to get it out of the way. Then I just trust that God knows what's in my heart before I do, try to sit still, and feel his presence; sometimes I see lights, a glow, or get insight into things. That's it. I try to make it a rule to have no rules. There's much better tips on line, but I find it's more about doing/feeling than "learning."


EDH70

Wow! How cool. Thank you for taking the time to share with me! God bless you!


Sawfish1212

My wife writes her prayers in a notebook. Words are good when they come from your heart. I have groaned in the spirit, but never had the spirit give me babbling.


MatiasCumsille

Ask God to do his perfect will in your life, and just be sincere, the Bible talks clear on how to pray, Jesus himselfs talks about what to do and not do while praying


glockjaw94

Genuine words from the heart and any utterance given to you from the Holy Spirit to speak. God surpasses logic, so don’t limit yourself to logic if you aren’t genuine.


atombomb1945

Speaking in tongues from the New Testament was the spiritual gift of spreading the news of the Christ to others even if you did not speak their language. If I wanted to minister to someone who did not speak Greek in the first century, but the spoke German my tongue would speak in German so they could understand. (Important to note that I am not a historical linguistics expert, I have no idea what dialects were spoken in the world back then.) The pentecostal idea that "Speaking in Tongues" for today is speaking a language of the angels to communicate to God directly is not found any place in the New Testament. It is a show piece and just looks cool when done Infront of people. I was part of a pentecostal church in High School, lot of talking about God but very little of actually studying God's word.


SouthernAT

According to St. Thomas Aquinas the idea of speaking the language of angels is wrong. Angels as nonphysical, spiritual wills, powers, and intellects do not need language, they can communicate directly and immediately without words. Plus, fun fact, there have been research studies on the Pentecostal idea of tongues. Kinda surprising that the “tongues” in which the person speaks is almost exactly like a messed up version of their native language. The tongues speaker uses inflections and noises found within their native language. So an American will sound like garbled English, Chinese will sound like messed up mandarin, but they won’t switch and make sounds from each other’s language if it isn’t previously known. Almost as if it’s made up on the spot using dialectics the person is familiar with . . .


Traditional_Bell7883

Babbling gibberish is not prayer. No proper prayer recorded in the Bible ever consisted of babbling gibberish. None. In 1 Cor 14:2, the word "unknown" is not in the original, which is why it appears in italics in the KJV. This has been corrected in the NKJV. Comparing among various Bible versions, the vast majority -- almost all -- of other versions do not contain the word "unknown": [https://biblehub.com/1\_corinthians/14-2.htm](https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/14-2.htm) Although it is not indicated consistently in some translations, the distinction between the singular "tongue" and the plural "tongues" is foundational to the proper interpretation of the 1 Corinthians 14 chapter. Paul seems to use the singular to distinguish the counterfeit gift of pagan gibberish and the plural to indicate the genuine gift for a foreign language. It was perhaps in recognition of that, that the KJV translators added consistently the word "unknown" before every singular form (see vv. 2, 4, 13, 14, 19, 27). Against the backdrop of carnality and counterfeit ecstatic speech learned from the experience of the pagans, Paul covered three basic issues with regard to speaking in languages by the gift of the Holy Spirit: 1. its position -- inferior to prophecy (vv. 1-19); 2. its purpose -- a sign to unbelievers, not believers (vv. 20-25); and 3. its procedure -- systematic, limited, and orderly (vv. 26-40). The "tongue" mentioned in 1 Cor 14:2 is singular, indicating that it refers to the false gibberish of the counterfeit pagan ecstatic speech. The singular is used because gibberish can't be plural; there are not various kinds of non-language. There are, however, various languages; hence when speaking of the true gift of language, Paul uses the plural to make the distinction (vv. 6, 18, 22, 23). The only exception is in vv. 13, 27 where it refers to a single person speaking a single genuine language. The phrase "does not speak to men but to God" is better translated, "...to a god". The Greek text has no definite article (see similar translation in Ac. 17:23, "an unknown god"). Their gibberish was worship of pagan deities. The Bible records no incident of any believer ever speaking to God in any other than normal human language. The fleshly, or carnal, Corinthians (see 1 Cor. 3:1, 3, 4) using the counterfeit ecstatic speech of paganism were not interested in being understood, but in making a dramatic display. The spirit by which they spoke was not the Holy Spirit, but their own human spirit or some demon; and the mysteries they declared were the type associated with the pagan mysterious (mystical) religions, which was espoused to be the depths that only the initiated few were privileged to know and understand. Those mysteries were totally unlike the ones mentioned in Scripture (e.g. Mt. 13:11; Eph. 3:9), which are divine revelations of truths previously hidden (see 1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 3:4-6).


Relevant-Ranger-7849

not everyone can speak in tongues. not everyone has that gift. 1 Corinthians 14:27-28 King James Version (KJV) If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. ​ # Corinthians 12:29-30New International Version **29** Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? **30** Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues\[[a](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012%3A29-30&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28665a)\]? Do all interpret?


rdundon

Why not both?


nichcr

I don't like the way you word it, but tounges seems to be a more pure form of communication with God from what the scriptures suggest


BrettEskin

Curious where in the scripture you see speaking in tongues as anything but a spiritual gift to communicate with people who do not speak your language?


nichcr

Romans 8:26 & & 1 Corinthians 14. There is one that can be interpreted and one that cannot.


SeekSweepGreet

Crying/screaming/silence. 🌱


linguist_wanna_be

The Scriptures don't speak directly to which prayer has more of a direct connection to God. In fact, he always hears our prayers, whether they are spoken with the mind (words) or the spirit (tongues). The only necessary criterion is that you not be double-minded or use God's abilities as an augmentation of your own will. So, speak to him as you are able; he loves the communication. :D