Group Prayers at Appointed Times

In our public assemblies we routinely have prayer to "open" the service. We have it again on Sunday night on Wednesday night, and at the close of every meeting. What do we pray about? Our prayers commonly include generalities about several things and a few particulars. We may cover the same points in the closing prayer that we did in the opening prayer---and maybe even at some prayer in between. We have learned to say a certain prayer and use it for all occasions. Repetition is not within itself bad. Jesus in Gethsemane prayed the same prayer three times. It was so important to Him that he was sweating as drops of blood. But, if repetition is simply for a lack of something else to say, it becomes empty words.

 

In the New Testament, prayers were focused on the work the Christians were doing. Wouldn't it be more meaningful for ours to be? One of our songs says "work and pray." Let us pray for our workers overseas and work for them. Maybe it is not healthy for us to ask God to bless all the missionaries everywhere if we are not involved in that task---not that we never have concerns that we think ourselves unable to do anything about, but it is wrong to ask God to do the work when we are not trying. It is nice to pray for all the hungry people of the world, but it is more meaningful to be involved even in some small way of sharing with others. There was a connection between the work Jesus was doing and his prayers. In the prayer in Acts 4 there was a connection between their work and their prayer. We should follow their pattern. Having prayers in our meetings is not just to fulfill an obligation to have group or public prayer. The purpose is to come to the feet of God for help in doing His will. We do not pray just because it is time for prayer. We pray because of a felt need, and the absence of a felt need makes prayer empty words.

 

The praying done in a worship service probably represents the current spiritual level of the church. A lack of focus in prayer is likely a representation of a lack of focus in that church. Either that church has no current real concerns or the prayer leader is not a participant in these concerns. It may be urgent that the church get some focus in its activities. Then the prayer leader should know what this church is trying to do and prayer about it. None of the recorded prayers of Jesus or of the church were general, all-purpose prayers. Most of them were short---and all of them had one point.