Prayer is important for the individual believer as well as in the corporate gathering of a body of believers. But I have often experienced prayer during the church gatherings in two extremes: beautifully poetic, staggeringly long pastoral prayers, and casual transitions. There may be a time and place for each of these kinds of prayers, but if we are serious about discipling our people, we need to consider how to lead and incorporate prayer more intentionally than:
Dead space? Prayer!
Transitioning between elements in the gathering? Prayer!
Changing a CAPO? Prayer!
Not sure what to do or say next? Prayer!
While there are many types of prayer, when thinking about the corporate gathering, I consider two primary categories for prayer: individual and corporate. How are we making space for both individual prayer - encouraging people to speak and listen to God personally, and directly as one member of the Body? And how are we using prayers to unite our hearts, profess our faith, and confess our sin together as the Body (corporate prayer)?
Here are some types of individual and corporate prayer that I believe every local expression of the Body of Christ would be well-served to incorporate more frequently:
Prayer of Illumination. A prayer said before the reading and preaching of God’s Word. Inviting the Holy Spirit to do what only the Holy Spirit can do, reveal Jesus to us by giving us eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to understand, hearts to love, and lives to obey.
Prayer of Confession. While taking Communion we may encourage people to examine their hearts and confess their sin (as instructed in 1 Corinthians 11), but are we leading and encouraging people to acknowledge their sin, confess their sin, repent of their sin, and turn from their sin as a regular part of our gathering? I am often personally convicted of how I assume God’s grace and forgiveness, and do not feel actually learn to regularly confess of my sin to the One who stands ready and willing to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Prayer of Lament. We know that the world is not as it should be, but we can be tempted to rush past reality of living in a broken world by saying, ‘But God is making all things new, it will be okay in the end, I should just trust Him…’ All of those things are true, but we can help our people learn to hold the tension of the already and not yet of this life of faith by acknowledging the world’s brokenness while at the same time resting and trusting in God’s good plan.
Praying Scripture. As our church has been in a sermon series on the Psalms of Ascent, each week I have read a handful of verses from a particular Psalm and prayed in response to what I have read. Taking God’s Word and praying it back to him in my own words - my hope is that this makes the connection for people that they too can read God’s Word and pray God’s Word.
Prayers of the Church. Using the Book of Common Prayer, the Valley of Vision, or resources like the Worship Sourcebook can be helpful resources to unite our voices in the room, to the voices of the Church throughout history as we pray corporately, and/or responsively to Truth handed down through the saints of old.
Written Prayers. It can be easy to slip into rhythms and patterns of prayer that say similar things again and again when you are praying extemporaneously. Maybe you could write a prayer specifically for the people you serve to pray with you, aloud, or simply by leaning in to actively participate in prayer as you read or pray.
What kinds of prayers have served your people well in the corporate gathering and beyond?