Praying in Older Language Forms

Some Christian pray in older language forms. Among English-speaking Christians, this involves using older pronouns like “thou” and “ye”, as well as older verb forms like “doth” and “doest”. There is nothing wrong with praying in older language forms in itself. However, there is one important factor to consider.

God wants us to worship him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). This means, at least, that we should pray to God in a manner that is genuine and focused on him. For many Christians, praying in older language forms requires them to focus extra attention to remember which forms of words to use. This makes it difficult for them to pray genuinely, and also distracts them from focusing on God during the prayer.

Of course, this is not always the case. There are certainly Christians who can pray genuinely and remain focused on God even when praying in older language forms. Nonetheless, if we cannot do the same, then we should pray in our natural languages instead of praying in older language forms.