Is speech necessary, in prayer?

[The Great Architect]

Is speech necessary, in communication with God, or can you reach Him without using words? If you truly wish to communicate with Him,do you even need words? Does he know what is in your heart and mind, already?

I believe that all you have to do, is ask Him with your heart?:bow:

Your thoughts?

 

[Guitar's Cry]

I believe the same as you.

But words contain much power. For some, they are a necessary element for the power of prayer to manifest. The emotions associated with the words are conveyed through them.

But in the end, it's the heart that counts.

 

[Gentoo]

I feel that if you believe that you got your message across, through words, feelings, images etc. then the gods will also understand your meaning.

 

[The Great Architect]

I do use words, sometimes.

 

[rajakrsna]

Is speech necessary, in communication with God, or can you reach Him without using words? If you truly wish to communicate with Him,do you even need words? Does he know what is in your heart and mind, already?

I believe that all you have to do, is ask Him with your heart?:bow:

Your thoughts?

Just by chanting sincerely: Hare krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare:shout God is immediately present in the chanter`s tongue.:yes:

 

[blackout]

I don't ask God for things.
I used to when I was a christian
but now I just enjoy doing things with/in "him".
simply Living Life Alive is communion with/in God for me.

Words are not necessary unless you need/prefer them.

I live in god, laugh in god, cry in god, create in god.
This for me is Living prayer.

 

[doppelganger]

Loud noises tend to drown out the more quiet things.

 

[apologistndenton]

Is speech necessary, in communication with God, or can you reach Him without using words? If you truly wish to communicate with Him,do you even need words? Does he know what is in your heart and mind, already?

I believe that all you have to do, is ask Him with your heart?:bow:

Your thoughts?

I agree.
The Bible teaches that God "knows the hearts of man and knows what man will say before he says it"

But I do pray out loud at times, for my own benefit or due to spiritual warfare. ~D.A

 

[Starfish]

Is speech necessary, in communication with God, or can you reach Him without using words? If you truly wish to communicate with Him,do you even need words? Does he know what is in your heart and mind, already?

I believe that all you have to do, is ask Him with your heart?:bow:

Your thoughts?

I don't understand communicating with your heart and mind. Do you mean thoughts? My communication with God is in words, my words, sometimes out loud and sometimes in my mind, and also through my actions. My actions show my obedience and my sincerity. Kind of like how I communicate to a member of my family.

Even though God knows already what's in our hearts and minds, I really believe he wants us to talk to him. (My husband knows I love him, but I still need to say it.) Talking to God, makes him more real to us. The more real he is to us, the greater our faith will be.

 

[The Great Architect]

I don't understand communicating with your heart and mind. Do you mean thoughts? My communication with God is in words, my words, sometimes out loud and sometimes in my mind, and also through my actions. My actions show my obedience and my sincerity. Kind of like how I communicate to a member of my family.

Even though God knows already what's in our hearts and minds, I really believe he wants us to talk to him. (My husband knows I love him, but I still need to say it.) Talking to God, makes him more real to us. The more real he is to us, the greater our faith will be.

I understand what you mean. I use words, a lot of the time; but I also believe that we don't need words, if we don't wish to use them. Sometimes, articulating our thoughts is helpful -- and it lends extra power to our requests -- but He knows us (perhaps better than we know ourselves). I think I forget that, at times.

 

[w00t]

If God is all seeing, all knowing he should know your thoughts and feelings without you having to ask him.

 

[Starfish]

If God is all seeing, all knowing he should know your thoughts and feelings without you having to ask him.

He is and he does. But we are here for our own growth and testing, not his. We are here to exercise our faith so to strengthen it. If we don't put forth the effort, how can we grow?
If I'm not praying because God already knows my thoughts, I start to slip away from him. Prayer keeps me connected. Praying verbally, outloud, helps me focus and seems to bring more power and purpose to the prayer. However, we're supposed to pray always, and so most of the time, it has to be in our thoughts.

I am extremely grateful for prayer. It has pulled me through some rough times.

 

[Somkid]

Well, I don't pray because I fail to see the point but as a Buddhist I do deep meditation and that is kind of like prayer, words label things so I do not use them rather I concentrate on the object it self with out naming it.

 

[Starfish]

Well, I don't pray because I fail to see the point but as a Buddhist I do deep meditation and that is kind of like prayer, words label things so I do not use them rather I concentrate on the object it self with out naming it.

No disrespect intended, but I just don't understand this. It's too vague for me. I guess I'm too much like a little kid, just needing to talk with my Father.

But, again, I try to respect all faiths.

 

[The Great Architect]

From what I understand (and someone can correct me), the majority of Buddhists do not regard Buddha as a deity; so, they do not pray directly to him. Is it more meditation, than it is prayer? I could be very wrong.

 

[Tragon]

I do not see any reason to use words when you pray to God, especially not aloud, but to each on their own. I would prefer silent prayer over verbal one myself.

Words are vessels of our heart and soul that we use to reach others. Be it a deity or other person. Sometimes we are without words and uncabeable to form our thoughts to shape we would want and that is when we leave our heart and soul to be interrepted by God. Words can be without meaning or have false shape, but our heart and soul always tell the truth about ourselves.

 

[Somkid]

No disrespect intended, but I just don't understand this. It's too vague for me. I guess I'm too much like a little kid, just needing to talk with my Father. But, again, I try to respect all faiths.

When I need to speak with my Father I pick up the phone and dial the USA I would also like to speak with my Mother but she is dead... So, I merge with all that is in the best way I can and forget self, forget this world as conceived in my usual prospective and become one with ??? which is no death, no old age, no sickness, no suffering... but I again come back to no end to sickness, no end to suffering, no end to old age and no end to death and rebirth. I know it is hard to understand but it is a Buddhist concept and something I'm not sure I could say in English (to spite it is my native language) because the meaning is lost in words. This is the Heart Sutra I say it every morning and every evening it is my main prayer. This is the best I can do for a translation and you will notice some words can not be translated into English.

Maha – Prajna – Paramita – Heart – Sutra

A-va-lo-kiteshva-ra-Bodhi-satt-va-while-practicing-deep-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta
Saw-all-five-skan-dhas-are-empty
transc-ending-all-suffering
Sha-ri-put-ra-form-is-not-different-from-emptiness
Emptiness-is-not-different-from-form
form-is-emptiness-emptiness-is-form
Feel-ings-per-cep-tions-vol-i-tions-consciousness-the-same-is-true-of-these
Sha-ri-put-ra-all-dhar-mas-are-marked-with-emptiness
They-are-not-born-nor-dest-royed
are-not-im-pure-nor-pure
do-not-in-crease-nor-de-crease
There-fore-in-emptiness-no-form
no-feel-ings-per-cep-tions-vol-i-tion-consciousness
no-eye-ear-nose-tongue-body-mind
no-col-our-sound-smell-taste-touch-ment-al-ob-ject
no-sight-sub-stance-and-so-forth-un-til-no-consciousness-sub-stance
no-ignorance-and-no-end-of-ignorance
and-so-forth-un-til-no-ag-ing-and-death-and-no-end-of-ag-ing-and-death
no-suffering-nor-origin-of-suffering
nor-end-nor-way-to-the-end-of-suffering
no-know-ledge-and-no-att-ain-ment
With-no-thing-to-att-ain
the-Bodhi-satt-va-fol-lows-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta
has-no-ill-u-sion
with-no-ill-u-sion-no-fear-exists
far-from-every-false-view
he-realis-es-per-fect-Nir-va-na
All-Buddh-as-in-the-past-present-and-fut-ure
there-fore-att-ain-per-fect-en-lightenment
So-know-the-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta
is-the-great-tran-scendent-man-tra
is-the-great-bright-man-tra
is-the-high-est-man-tra
is-the-ut-most-man-tra
can-re-move-all-suffering-al-so-true-not-false
so-speak-the-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta-man-tra
speak-the-mantra-that-says
gone-gone-gone-beyond
gone-fully-beyond-Bodh-i-Sva-ha!
Pra-jna-heart-su-tra
​

 

[Starfish]

When I need to speak with my Father I pick up the phone and dial the USA I would also like to speak with my Mother but she is dead... So, I merge with all that is in the best way I can and forget self, forget this world as conceived in my usual prospective and become one with ??? which is no death, no old age, no sickness, no suffering... but I again come back to no end to sickness, no end to suffering, no end to old age and no end to death and rebirth. I know it is hard to understand but it is a Buddhist concept and something I'm not sure I could say in English (to spite it is my native language) because the meaning is lost in words. This is the Heart Sutra I say it every morning and every evening it is my main prayer. This is the best I can do for a translation and you will notice some words can not be translated into English.



Maha – Prajna – Paramita – Heart – Sutra

A-va-lo-kiteshva-ra-Bodhi-satt-va-while-practicing-deep-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta​

Saw-all-five-skan-dhas-are-empty​

transc-ending-all-suffering​

Sha-ri-put-ra-form-is-not-different-from-emptiness​

Emptiness-is-not-different-from-form​

form-is-emptiness-emptiness-is-form​

Feel-ings-per-cep-tions-vol-i-tions-consciousness-the-same-is-true-of-these​

Sha-ri-put-ra-all-dhar-mas-are-marked-with-emptiness​

They-are-not-born-nor-dest-royed​

are-not-im-pure-nor-pure​

do-not-in-crease-nor-de-crease​

There-fore-in-emptiness-no-form​

no-feel-ings-per-cep-tions-vol-i-tion-consciousness​

no-eye-ear-nose-tongue-body-mind​

no-col-our-sound-smell-taste-touch-ment-al-ob-ject​

no-sight-sub-stance-and-so-forth-un-til-no-consciousness-sub-stance​

no-ignorance-and-no-end-of-ignorance​

and-so-forth-un-til-no-ag-ing-and-death-and-no-end-of-ag-ing-and-death​

no-suffering-nor-origin-of-suffering​

nor-end-nor-way-to-the-end-of-suffering​

no-know-ledge-and-no-att-ain-ment​

With-no-thing-to-att-ain​

the-Bodhi-satt-va-fol-lows-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta​

has-no-ill-u-sion​

with-no-ill-u-sion-no-fear-exists​

far-from-every-false-view​

he-realis-es-per-fect-Nir-va-na​

All-Buddh-as-in-the-past-present-and-fut-ure​

there-fore-att-ain-per-fect-en-lightenment​

So-know-the-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta​

is-the-great-tran-scendent-man-tra​

is-the-great-bright-man-tra​

is-the-high-est-man-tra​

is-the-ut-most-man-tra​

can-re-move-all-suffering-al-so-true-not-false​

so-speak-the-Pra-jna-Pa-ra-mi-ta-man-tra​

speak-the-mantra-that-says​

gone-gone-gone-beyond​

gone-fully-beyond-Bodh-i-Sva-ha!​

Pra-jna-heart-su-tra​

Again, you lost me. But thanks for sharing.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

No, certainly not. But i can't pray in any other way. I cant pray with my soul or my heart. It's normally something people say to look all good and clever. Truth is they have no clue how to "pray with your soul"

 

[Azakel]

I do not believe one needs to speak out loud the prayer that they say. But saying the prayers out loud can be a good focus point if one finds it hard to just think it.