Can Saying the Wrong Things When Praying Make God Angry?

Billy Graham

In a recent post on his website on Saturday (Billy Graham Answers), the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, In his response when a question was asked:

"I know I ought to pray more, but I'm afraid of saying something wrong and then God will be upset with me. I still say a few prayers that I memorized as a child, but I'd like to do more".

Graham urges readers to think back to when their children were small and first learning how to talk.

Some Christians desire to pray more, but might be hesitant to do so because they simply don't know what to say. Not to worry, says the Rev. Billy Graham, just be open and personal with God. Believers can talk to Him even as they were little children.

Don’t be afraid; don’t worry about saying something in your prayers that might offend God. Reciting a prayer that we’ve memorized (such as the Lord’s Prayer) isn’t wrong, as long as we don’t lose sight of its meaning—but God wants our prayers to be just as open and personal as they can be.

After all, think back to when your children were first beginning to talk. Were you offended when they made a mistake, or weren’t very clear, or confused one word with another? No, of course not. In fact, you were delighted at their attempts to communicate with you. Later, of course, they became more skilled—but even then, you still cherished their conversation (and hopefully you still do).

In a far greater way, this is how God sees us. When we come to Christ and by faith commit our lives to Him, we become His children. He loves us and adopts us into His family, and we can talk with Him the same way our children talked with us. The Bible says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16).

As he often does, the 97-year-old evangelist urges those unacquainted with Christ to invite Him into their lives.

Graham then encourages these babes in Christ to read Scripture to learn how to hear God's voice as He speaks to them through His Word, and to "talk with Him as you bring your concerns to Him in prayer."

Graham adds that Believers need not worry about any issue in their lives, but should allow God to shoulder their concerns. "The Bible says, 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God'" (Philippians 4:6).