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Nervous while praying in public


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When my family and I pray at restaurants i get nervous, i feel like everyone is staring and it makes me uncomfortable. Does anyone else have that issue, or is there something wrong with me? 

Also if you have experienced this, how did you overcome this problem?

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We always pray in public. Not only do we pray, but we all hold hands (on top of the table) while praying.

Yes, there is the nervous factor; in which, you wonder what people are thinking or if they are staring. However, we (as a family) nor I (if I'm alone) have ever been openly ridiculed or mocked to my knowledge. We have experienced people commending us on a few occasions though.

If the day comes; in which, people start openly opposing our praying, that will be nothing compared to the persecution that many Christians have suffered...and others in many countries suffer today.

So no, I don't think there's anything wrong with you...it's just one part of the spiritual warfare that we fight and the struggle we all have between our flesh and spirit.

I used to be more "concerned" about how others viewed our praying in the past than I am now. Now it hardly enters my mind. I guess my faith, thankfulness, and desire to please the Lord are what makes the difference in my life. I want to please him...not them. ;)

Also, you don't have to pray for 10 minutes at 10,000 decibels either. We say a short but heartfelt prayer of thanks. :)

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38 minutes ago, No Nicolaitans said:

We always pray in public. Not only do we pray, but we all hold hands (on top of the table) while praying.

Yes, there is the nervous factor; in which, you wonder what people are thinking or if they are staring. However, we (as a family) nor I (if I'm alone) have ever been openly ridiculed or mocked to my knowledge. We have experienced people commending us on a few occasions though.

If the day comes; in which, people start openly opposing our praying, that will be nothing compared to the persecution that many Christians have suffered...and others in many countries suffer today.

So no, I don't think there's anything wrong with you...it's just one part of the spiritual warfare that we fight and the struggle we all have between our flesh and spirit.

I used to be more "concerned" about how others viewed our praying in the past than I am now. Now it hardly enters my mind. I guess my faith, thankfulness, and desire to please the Lord are what makes the difference in my life. I want to please him...not them. ;)

Also, you don't have to pray for 10 minutes at 10,000 decibels either. We say a short but heartfelt prayer of thanks. :)

I do have issues with being overly shy, I suppose hopefully it'll get better when I'm older! I am glad to hear I'm not the only one who has struggled with this :)

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You might consider looking at prayer from another angle.  Does your praying cause others to be uncomfortable?  Often new believers will be challenged to pray by the actions of others and you know children they are uninhibited, daddy why don’t we pray?  Not being comfortable is good because it keeps us in remembrance that we are not of the world but we are in it.    

   

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7 minutes ago, Orval said:

You might consider looking at prayer from another angle.  Does your praying cause others to be uncomfortable?  Often new believers will be challenged to pray by the actions of others and you know children they are uninhibited, daddy why don’t we pray?  Not being comfortable is good because it keeps us in remembrance that we are not of the world but we are in it.    

   

That is a very interesting way of looking at it. I will keep that in mind!

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Thanks for that Roselove.

I knew someone who was a police officer for the Metropolitan Police in London. He said he usually bowed his head over his meal in the police canteen and gave thanks.  One day he thought that no one notices so he will give thanks while he was queuing for his food, then one day one of the servers said "You don't say your pctiryers anymore," He went back to his old practice.

As a teenager I was always shy, and went red and stuttered if I had to say anything. Then one day in our staff canteen of a national newspaper, I was with a friend who said let's pray.  People were queuing for their food right next to us.  That more or less cured me.

On my 70h birthday we went to a restaurant with about 14 of us.  My son in law gave thanks in a loud enough voice for all in the room to hear.  Afterwards I noticed that several people were smiling. Then I noticed that there was a giant Buddha in the corner, I don't know how I missed that before, or I would have chosen somewhere else, especially as at least one in law claims to be a Buddhist, but then he sometimes says he is a Quaker.

We once had 2 foster children aged 6 & 7 who we took to a park in Canterbury to eat our sandwiches.  the elder asked if she could pray for the food and we said yes. Afterwards a couple at the same picnic table smiled and said they were Christians, but we noticed that they didn't give thanks for their food.

 

 

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i am shy in some ways.. I can't speak in front of people... we all have ways that others do not have... so others can help others, did that make sense... God bless you sister.... look to Jesus and His Word not the world and their ways.. its the worlds way to intimidate us... 

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It amazes me that some preachers never look at the congregation. They look at the left wall, the right wall, the ceiling the floor.but never at the congregation, or only an odd glance. A friend once said "when you speak, look them in the eyes".   Difficult if you are shy. One pastor I heard once said "Look at me when I am preaching hen I know you are listening. I one visited a Baptist Church a few miles away, and the pastor spoke for an hour and didn't look at us once, 

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It's natural for praying in public to a baby christian to feel unnatural and awkward.  And indeed it is for you as it something new.

I too felt awkward but not anymore, we boldly pray and hold hands too wherever we are!  We are Christians, we have the power, not the heathen and this lost world!  Let their sins make them squirm.

“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” - Mark 8:38

I have a relative who made a profession of faith 23 years ago; a charismatic.  I was saved ten years ago.  To this day, that relative still refuses to say grace even at his own dinner table.  I don't know about him, but I'm thankful for every morsel that God graciously gives to our family and allows us to share with friends and family.  I have no problem saying it.

Soul winning on the other hand, terrible, just terrible.  Except for my house.  I'm a work in progress Roselove and like everyone else here, won't be made perfect until we get our glorified bodies!

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