4. Leading worship 17/08/08 - types of public prayer

5 leading worship 17/08/08 - resources for public prayer 3. Leading worship 17/08/08 - Planned prayer 2. Leading worship 17/08/08 - video intro 1. Leading worship - song list & planning

24th August 2008
Last time we thought about the merits of planned prayer in corporate worship. This time we take a brief overview of some of the different types of prayers modelled in scripture.

Unplanned prayer can default too easily into a repetition of worn-out phrases covering a very narrow band of the wide spectrum of prayers modelled in scripture. To quote again from DA Carson, ‘In non-liturgical churches, many prayers are so predictable that they are scarcely any more spontaneous than written prayers, and most of them are not nearly as well crafted.’ If we are best to serve others as we pray publically, it would help us greatly to become increasingly familiar with the rich diversity of types of prayer used in the Bible.

A snapshot of the variety of prayer in the bible
• Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! … For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Rom 11
• Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes 5:16-18
• Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Ps 51:1
• How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? Ps 13:1
• By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion… How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? Ps 137:1,4
• O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Ps 63:1
• I love you, O LORD, my strength. PS 18:1
• Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Ps 119:18
• Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil 4:6
• I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone. I Tim 2:1
• Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Ps 119:33
• Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Ps 119:36

The types of prayers in scripture
I want to suggest that these prayers above help us identify at least the following types of prayer:

• Adoration/praise – acknowledging God’s divine nature and worth, marvelling in who he is, finding delight in telling him how wonderful he is.
• Thanksgiving – thanking him for all he has done on our behalf, as a natural response to the undeserved grace poured out on us. We are called to give thanks in all circumstances, which, when leading public prayer, will need thought and pastoral sensitivity given the context of hurt and pain that many bring into our services of worship.
• Love and longing for God – perhaps expressing our delight in God; perhaps expressing our desire for greater delight; perhaps expressing a sorrow that the delight and desire are not all they should be.
• Confession – where we acknowledge both our sins and sinfulness before a holy God, turn in repentance from those sins and seek forgiveness from our God who delights to show mercy.
• Lament – both personal, allowing for the person struggling with personal issues to connect with our gathered worship; and corporate, in light of national tragedies.
• Prayer for illumination – usually before the teaching, where we ask God by his Spirit to take his word and apply it to our hearts, challenging, encouraging and admonishing us through his living and active word.
• Pastoral petitions – where we bring our requests before our God, gathering the joys and celebrations, needs and concerns of the worshippers. In this prayer, we also remember the needs of others in the wider world. Paul’s prayers in the NT give great examples of things of substance to pray for when praying for others.
• Prayer of dedication –in response to the God who has spoken, where we dedicate ourselves to apply what God has said to us and where we seek his help to empower the obedience he requires from us.
• Blessings/benedictions – where we speak words of God’s grace and love over people.

Of course a single prayer may contain more than one of these elements and we may not have them all included in every meeting, nor in the same proportion in different meetings. But nevertheless, this list gives us an idea of the diversity that should characterise our corporate prayer life over a period of time.

Questions for worship leaders to consider
How wide is the variety of prayer used in corporate worship in Glenabbey? Which of these types do we major on? Which are less common? Which ones do we need to build in more regularly? Do we allow time for confession, reflection and repentance? How often should we do this? As there has been an increasing recovery of songs of lament in recent years, are we at the same time learning to articulate lament in prayers? Are our pastoral prayers sensitive to the needs and circumstances of Glenabbey and of our local the community? Do they lift our eyes off our own local situation to express a concern for the world and those who suffer?

Next time we'll take a look at some resources that may help those of us who are called on to lead prayer in public. After that I'll post the full piano score for the arrangement of How deep the Father's love

Alistair Hamill