Why do we pray outloud?

Pastor Chris,
Why as Christians do we pray out loud when we know that Satan can hear what our prayers are when we pray out loud and not silently?
- D.L.





D.L.,
Let me direct you to two places in the Bible where people prayed out loud. The first passage is Luke 11:1-2. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.’”

Here we see that Jesus Himself prayed out loud and encouraged His followers to do the same. Jesus tells them, “When you pray, say…” Since Jesus is our example in all things, we seek to do as He did.

Another passage that I want to call your attention to is Acts 4:23-24. On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” From these verses we see that the early disciples prayed out loud together.

My conclusion is this: since Jesus and the early disciples prayed out loud, they must not have cared whether Satan could hear their prayers or not. On a personal note, I have been encouraged again and again by the spoken prayers of others. To be with others when they are speaking to God is a marvelous thing, a strengthening thing. Silent prayer is good, but there is a place for spoken prayer, too.

-- Pastor Chris

Is this interpretation biblically sound?

Pastor Chris, I listened to a recording that put forth the idea that Barack Obama could be the antichrist. Here is the link to that message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXMAnlMmEPw. The speaker referred to Luke 10:18 and said that since Jesus spoke Aramaic, the words He used could be pronounced the same way as Barack Obama’s name even though the verse was written in Greek. He further stated that Jesus might be trying to identify the name of the antichrist in this verse. Is this interpretation biblically sound? -    Kathy





Kathy,

I clicked on the link you sent and watched the video. It is true that the Bible has predictive prophecy that is 100% accurate. The most notable example of that are the prophecies concerning the Messiah (over 200). Jesus is the only person in history that fulfills ALL of those prophecies.

However, Luke 10:18 is not spoken by Jesus as predictive prophecy. He speaks a word about His observation concerning the work of the disciples. The demons were subject to the disciples and Jesus comments on that by saying that He "...saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." It does not appear from the text that Jesus is intentionally trying to give us the name of the antichrist.

Furthermore, when I checked out the Hebrew word for "lightning" I found four different Hebrew words that can all be translated "lightning." Only one of them has the pronounciation "baw-rawk" (Strong's Concordance, word #1300, "baraq"). The other numbers for Hebrew words for lightning from Strong's are: #216 ("owr"); #965 ("bazaq"); and, #2385 ("chaziyz"). Jesus could have spoken any one of these four words to refer to lightning if He was speaking Hebrew, but He was actually speaking Aramaic. Aramaic is close to Hebrew and Jesus may very well have said the word and the pronunciation "baw-rawk" but there is no way to know exactly which one of the four words He used. An Aramaic scholar would be needed tell us if the words for lightning in Aramaic are exactly the same in Hebrew.

The word given in Greek for "heaven" in Luke 10:18 is "ouranoú." Again, the Hebrew has more than one word for heaven. There is Strong's #8064, "shamayim." This is by far the most often used Hebrew word for heaven. There is also #1534, "galgal" and #7834, "shachaq" and #8065, "shamayin."

The speaker on the video uses the Hebrew word for "heights" (Strong's #1116, "bamah"). I checked the definition of "bamah" and it does not include "heaven." Strong's Concordance says that "bamah" means "an elevation, height, high place, wave."

It is difficult for me to believe that if Jesus wanted to communicate the word for "heights" ("bamah" in Hebrew; not sure in Aramaic, which again Jesus would be speaking) that He would use the word for "heaven." Why wouldn't Luke use the Greek word "hupsoma" for Jesus' expression, which (according to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p. 211) means, "height, as a mountain or anything definitely termed a height...a high thing lifted up as a barrier or in antagonistic exaltation, 2 Cor. 10:5." Again, Luke used the Greek word "ouranoú" which simply means "heaven."

CONCLUSION: I do not think that Barack Obama is the antichrist. I do not think that Jesus is alluding to him or trying to name him. If I am wrong on this then we will not have to worry about it anyway, because the true believers will be taken to heaven before the antichrist is revealed to the world (1 Thess. 4:14-17; Rev. 11, 13). Rev. 11 and 13 reveal the antichrist to the world during the mid-point of the Tribulation. We (those that are the true believers) will have been in heaven for 3 1/2 years by that time.

God bless you! Keep digging! The Word of God is a gold mine!

Sincerely,
Pastor Chris

How deal with a disrespectful son?

Pastor Chris,
My wife and I are raising a teenage boy and an elementary school daughter. We have been encountering some "respect" issues recently between my wife and my son. Currently my wife and I are not on the same page with handling our son's perceived disrespect towards her. I am usually not there to witness it. Once she explains to me the circumstances, we normally talk it out between the two of us to set a course of action (or not) or I talk to our son. This will work once in a while, but like most things it fades away over time. Rarely do I feel the need to act physically towards our son as I don't believe that is an effective course of action…especially when I am not there to interpret the context of the event. My wife feels that I need to be more physical towards him even though she is the one being disrespected. My bottom-line feeling is that our son will respect her even less if I handle those situations on her behalf. I believe she also feels that I don't support her assertions of his disrespect once she explains them to me.

We want to lean on our faith as guidance. Thank you! -- Stan








Stan,
Parenting is a difficult task! It sure keeps a man on his knees! Moms too!

Your children must know that Dad and Mom are a team. If one of you is disrespected then the other one has been disrespected, too. You must back your wife.

Have a family conference with you, your wife, and your son. Ask each of them to tell their side of the story in front of you and in front
of each other. Tell your son that when he disrespects his mother he is disrespecting you and that you will not stand for that. Give him one warning and that is all. The family conference is that warning. Tell your son that if he disrespects his mother again that you will take away one of his privileges. Name one or two privileges that you might take away. (Corporal punishment is usually not the best way to discipline a teenager.) If he disrespects his mother a second time, take away a different privilege plus the original privilege. Each time it occurs, increase the cost to him.

The point is, make the punishment fit the crime. Too harsh is unfair. Too lenient will encourage the disrespectful behavior. When you take away one of his privileges make it something that is meaningful to him and something that will not punish you or your wife. Set a time limit
on it. Follow through with it. Make a believer out of your son. Help him to see that you will follow through with what you say you will do.

Remember to love, respect, and cherish your wife in front of the children. Hold the door for her. Help her be seated at the table by assisting her with her chair. Hold her hand when you sit on the sofa together. Your children need to know that their mother is first in your life after the Lord Himself. The best way to show love to your kids is to show love to their mother.

Here are some verses from the Bible for you to ponder as you seek to guide your son and support your wife: Proverbs 3:12; 22:6; 27:17;
29:17; 31:10-31; Ephesians 5:25-33; 6:1-4. You can look them up on www.biblegateway.com.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Pastor Chris