Tips for Praying Out Loud

As a pastor’s wife, I’m often asked to pray out loud in front of a group. (Not as often as my husband is asked, but I get my fair share of requests!) I usually don’t think twice about it, and just pray. But I know not everyone is as comfortable praying out loud as I have grown to be.

Here are just a few tips to remember when you’re asked to pray out loud:

1. Relax. You’re really talking to God, not the people in the room. He’s not going to love you more or less based on your performance on this prayer.
2. Remember to praise God in your prayer. Start by focusing on God, His attributes and His promises. It will help calm any nervousness because you aren’t focused on yourself.
3. Don’t be afraid to pause. When I get nervous I talk faster, and when I talk faster I think less about what I’m saying, and when I’m not thinking, well . . . I ramble. So I just pause. I quickly collect my thoughts and slow down so I can pray with my whole heart, and not just my fast moving lips.
4. Write down the requests you’re praying over. In my ladies Sunday school class, we spend about half our time on prayer requests. I feel that’s one of our main purposes—to support, encourage, and pray for one another. We often fill up an entire notebook page. I certainly can’t remember all the requests when it’s time to pray. So I look at my list. That way I make sure everyone’s requests are lifted up in prayer.