Some Thoughts About Public Prayer

Greg Gwin

We commend our men who are willing to help during the assemblies by leading the congregation in prayer. You are doing a good work!

Please allow us to make a few suggestions that can improve our efforts in public prayers:

1) Speak UP! If you cannot be heard, you are not really doing your job. How can you ‘lead’ others if they can’t hear you? You must project your voice in a louder and more forceful tone than you commonly do in normal conversation. A good way to measure how loudly you should speak is to imagine someone standing in the farthest corner of the building – then speak so they could easily hear you.

2) Remember that this is a public prayer. This will dictate what sort of things you should pray about. Private matters should be dealt with in private prayers.

3) Don’t pray to be seen or heard by men (Matthew 6:5-8). You are not trying to impress men. You are speaking to the eternal Father in Heaven.

4) Give some thought to the length of your prayer. Public prayers do not need to be extremely long. The model prayer that Jesus prayed (Matthew 6:9-13) can be recited in less than 20 seconds. But, having said that, we should also advise you not to get in a big rush, either. Nervousness can make you speak so rapidly that it is hard for others to understand.

5) Don’t sermonize. Again, you are speaking to God, not men. Don’t use your prayer as an opportunity to ‘make a point’ with others who are in the assembly.

6) Do everything (volume, speed, content, motive, etc.) in such way that others will be able to add their “amen” at the end of the prayer (1 Corinthians 14:16).