Answer
Prayer is speaking to God, and, as with any conversation, it is possible for others to overhear what we say. We assume that Satan can and does “eavesdrop” on our prayers—that is, he can hear what we pray about. This should not be of major concern to the child of God.
The Bible records many prayers from saints who prayed out loud, in their own language, with no fear that Satan might be eavesdropping:
Daniel: The law in Persia was that no one could petition any god except the king of Persia for thirty days, but that did not deter Daniel from praying. “He went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (Daniel 6:10). Daniel’s enemies were watching and probably eavesdropping. Satan might have been, too, but we aren’t told. In any case, Daniel made no attempt to alter his prayer or to hide it from physical (or spiritual) eyes.
David: On the run from Saul, David prayed for the Lord’s direction, and the Lord gave him a plan of escape (1 Samuel 23:9–14). If any situation ever called for concern that Satan might be eavesdropping, this was it. Yet David simply prayed, giving no thought to whether the devil heard.
Hezekiah: When King Hezekiah received a threatening letter from the Assyrians, “he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread [the letter] out before the Lord” (2 Kings 19:14). He then prayed for deliverance from the enemy. Satan is not mentioned at all in the passage, and we assume that Hezekiah did not care if Satan heard his prayer or not. He was praying to the Lord God Almighty, and that’s all he cared about.
Hannah: In “deep anguish” and “weeping bitterly” at the door of the tabernacle, Hannah prayed for a son (1 Samuel 1:10–11). Did Satan eavesdrop on her prayer? Yes, he probably heard it; at the very least, he was made aware of what she was praying through a demonic report. Did Satan take advantage of her struggle? It seems he had already been at work to make her miserable in her home life (1 Samuel 1:6–8). He did not need the extra intel to know how to vex her.
The above cases have at least two things in common:David: On the run from Saul, David prayed for the Lord’s direction, and the Lord gave him a plan of escape (1 Samuel 23:9–14). If any situation ever called for concern that Satan might be eavesdropping, this was it. Yet David simply prayed, giving no thought to whether the devil heard.
Hezekiah: When King Hezekiah received a threatening letter from the Assyrians, “he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread [the letter] out before the Lord” (2 Kings 19:14). He then prayed for deliverance from the enemy. Satan is not mentioned at all in the passage, and we assume that Hezekiah did not care if Satan heard his prayer or not. He was praying to the Lord God Almighty, and that’s all he cared about.
Hannah: In “deep anguish” and “weeping bitterly” at the door of the tabernacle, Hannah prayed for a son (1 Samuel 1:10–11). Did Satan eavesdrop on her prayer? Yes, he probably heard it; at the very least, he was made aware of what she was praying through a demonic report. Did Satan take advantage of her struggle? It seems he had already been at work to make her miserable in her home life (1 Samuel 1:6–8). He did not need the extra intel to know how to vex her.
1) Satan is not mentioned even once.
2) Those who prayed simply talked to God in a heartfelt, straightforward manner.
3) The prayer was answered.
As they prayed, Daniel and David and Hezekiah and Hannah focused on God and God alone. If the thought that Satan was listening ever crossed the minds—and it doesn’t seem that it did—their attitude would likely have been, “So what?” Satan might be eavesdropping—so what? The devil will do his worst—so what? We’re not talking to him; we’re talking to the Sovereign God of the universe! Our God will hear our cry and act on our behalf, regardless of what Satan hears or doesn’t hear, or what he does or doesn’t do.
Satan can eavesdrop if he wants, but he is not stronger than the Holy Spirit, who “prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26–27, NLT).
Satan and his demonic hordes have absolutely no power to prevent God from answering our prayers according to His will. So, there is no need to stop verbalizing our prayers to keep Satan from hearing them. And there is no need to employ a “heavenly language” to try to “fool” Satan. God hears, and that’s all that matters. Whether Satan and his demons hear and understand our prayers is irrelevant.
