National
Pastors' Prayer
Network
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#051
Uncommon Prayer for Worship
Services
by Phil Miglioratti
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Let us pray . . . every eye closed . . . every head bowed.
In many churches, times of prayer have become the most neglected, unplanned,
non-engaging moments of a worship service. The congregation, gathered to express
their heartfelt worship to Almighty God, is told to sit, be still, and remain
silent. This is hardly the active participation described and demanded in
biblical worship.
>From its beginning the New Testament church was a praying church. Every
believer was present and participating. Note these instances:
* The Upper Room (Acts 1:14)
* Post-Pentecost (Acts 2:42)
* Resisting the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:24,31)
* Resolving conflict (Acts 6:4)
* Enduring persecution (Acts 12:5)
* Launching global missions (Acts 13:2)
Apostolic teaching urged the church to make prayer a priority (1 Tim. 2:1). When
Paul exhorted the believers in Colosse to "devote yourselves to
prayer" (Col. 4:2), he was literally saying "spend much time together
in the place of prayer." When he wrote to "the saints" (all the
believers) in Ephesus (Eph. 1:2), he instructed them to "pray in the Spirit
on all occasions" (Eph. 6:18). Prayer was both the responsibility and the
divine opportunity of each person in the congregation. Prayer was never intended
to be the spectator event it has become.
Worship leaders and planning teams must include corporate prayer when they
design worship services for the church. Those assembled must have opportunity to
address God (praise and adoration), express their needs (petitions and
requests), and be led by the Holy Spirit as He helps us pray (listening and
reflecting).
"How will we facilitate congregational prayer?" is a central question
for planning any gathering for worship, celebration, or teaching. Merely
listening to the choir sing or the preacher pray is not the biblical model, nor
is the best way to connect people to God in our increasingly interactive
culture.
As a worship leader or as a member of the worship team, ask yourself:
What is our motivation? Change for the sake of change is an inadequate reason to
insert something new into the Sunday morning order or worship .. Providing an
opportunity to connect people to God in a life-transforming and
church-transforming way must be the motivation that propels and guides us.
What will we do to make the meaning clear? Most members in a congregation are
ready, willing, and able to step into new territories of prayer; but they need
to know more than what you want them to do: "Please stand and ___."
They also need to know why: "The Scriptures tell us to give thanks, so,
please stand and ___."
What is the most suitable and beneficial method? Select or design activities
that quickly and directly connect people to God in prayer. Respect tradition and
be keenly aware of your congregation's comfort zone, but also gently lead the
church into expressions and experiences of praise and petition that result in
fresh encounters with the living God.
Prepare people if you are going to ask them to do something new or different:
"I am going to ask you to participate this morning in a way that is new to
many of us. I believe it will enable us as a body to obey our Lord as we present
our requests to Him. You may join others in a small prayer group, remain seated
and pray silently, or join a group but not pray aloud."
Give people the option not to participate if they are physically unable to
comply (to kneel, for instance) or because they do not have a personal
relationship with the Lord ("You may choose to remain seated").
Tell the congregation what you are going to ask them to do. Give people the
freedom to choose how they will participate. Lovingly challenge (not chide) them
to step outside their comfort zones.
What action would best enable every member of the church to focus on God when we
pray? Which methods have received the most favorable response in the past? Which
activities have we overused lately? As you plan, consider:
* Purpose-praise, petition, thanksgiving, confession.
* Posture-stand, kneel, bow, prostrate.
* Participation-recite in unison, form a group, come to the
altar.
How will we ask for feedback? Resistance to a new form of prayer may have more
to do with the way it has been introduced or explained than it does to an
unwillingness to try new methods.
Whom can we ask to submit ideas of ways to lead the congregation into prayer?
The best methods are often the simplest. Invite the Holy Spirit to give you His
creative ideas each time you plan. The way to find the appropriate prayer
activity is through your own activity of prayer!
A few suggestions may stimulate your thinking.
1. Between verses of a hymn, invite the congregation to pray
in pairs, focusing on the lyrics they have just sung.
2. Between verses of a choir selection, have someone prepared
to pray (on microphone or standing in the congregation), using the lyric of the
preceding verse to focus the prayer.
3. At the beginning of the service, ask the congregation to
write a praise or petition on a card provided. Instruct them to bring the cards
to the front and place them in a basket at any time during the worship service,
whenever the Holy Spirit prompts them.
4. Use introductory remarks to guide the prayer time: "As
a sign of our praise and adoration of God, please stand;" or "As a
sign of our humility, please kneel (if you are physically able) as we confess
our sins;" or "As a sign of our unity in Christ, please form a group
with three or four others. We will recite the Lord's Prayer together."
5. Invite parents and children to pray together-holding hands,
forming circles, or walking together to pray at the altar.
6. Ask the congregation to pray silently after each worship
song, using the song's lyrics to focus their prayers. Select songs that
establish a flow of thought-praise, repentance, intercession, commitment.
7. Use visuals to focus prayer: Banners -"Great is the
Lord!"; Flags -"Pray for the nation of ___;" Posters -"Our
youth are reminding us of their summer mission trip;" Bulletin inserts
-"Today, with churches across the country, we are asking God for improved
race relations;" PowerPoint® - “Pray with your eyes open. Offer a prayer
for each of these needs." Use words, images, photographs, or people's
faces.
8. Spend a series of Sundays praying for various church
ministries: "This morning, as our Sunday School teachers and workers stand
among us, we will pray for them and the people they serve. Please focus on
someone near you. Walk over to that person and pray aloud for God's blessing as
that person serves God in our Sunday School."
9. Ask the congregation to listen prayerfully to the song
being sung (solo or ensemble). Then invite everyone to stand and respond with
small-group prayer.
10. Invite the congregation to pray before the offering is
taken: "This morning, before we invite you to offer your gifts to God (the
offering), please find a partner and ask the Lord to bless what we are giving
and to use it for His glory."
11. Use Scripture for guided prayer: "As I read this
morning's Scripture, I will pause after each section and invite you to pray,
using the verses we have just heard to direct our prayers."
12. Use the church prayer list or specific church ministries
to guide a prayer: "Please take your bulletin (or the church prayer list)
with you as we form groups of three or four. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to
one of the activities or ministries as you pray for our church. You may be led
to pray for our staff or that all of us as members will be faithful to our
mission (or vision) statement."
13. Ask someone to voice brief prayers that will help the
congregation focus their thoughts during an instrumental. Pause after each
voiced prayer to allow time for silent prayer in the church.
14. When the children or youth or a specific ministry group
sings before the congregation, invite their leaders to come forward after the
song; pray for the leaders and the entire group.
15. In advance ask several people to be prepared to pray after
a choir anthem, basing their prayer on the message of the song.
16. After the message, invite people to pray in groups before
the final song.
Our goal is to invite the church into a divine conversation that originates in
the heart of Almighty God and is revealed to us by the leading and empowering of
the Holy Sprit, and to offer prayer to the Father in the name and authority of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the Lord use us to bring His people into
His presence-body, soul, and spirit-to the glory of God!
Let us pray . . . Everyone stand . . . and . . .
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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,
copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by
permission.
This article was adapted from the Winter 2002-2003 issue of Let's Worship
Magazine.
Visit http://www.lifeway.com for
books, Bibles, magazines, curriculum, conferences and a wide variety of church
leadership and ministry resources
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© 2001-2002 LifeWay Christian Resources
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