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 is not natural, and 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 for every Christian. Many Christians are able to pray in older language forms genuinely, without being distracted from focusing on God—and there is nothing wrong with that! Nonetheless, if we cannot do the same, then we should pray in our own natural languages instead of praying in older language forms.