Modern church services feature a lot of prayers.
This past Sunday at CityView Church, assuming I counted correctly, we prayed in service about six times. They were sprinkled across various spots such as giving, the opening and closing of the message, worship, and dismissal.
Corporate (the churchy word we use a lot as a substitute for “all together”) prayer has a rich history- I found out through baptisthistory.org that services in the 1600s were almost exclusively prayers, punctuated with lots of audience participation, multiple sermons, and no singing whatsover. So things are a little more tame now (and I’m a lot more employable), but I think we could all admit that we may not always engage with corporate prayer like we could.
For many of us, including me, it can feel easy to forget why we pray. It’s true that we often use prayers to get from one service element to another on Sunday morning, and if you sometimes feel like maybe a prayer is just a thing we’re doing to let the band sneak back on stage after the message, know that you’re not alone. However, let’s not miss that we have an opportunity with each corporate prayer to join in with our hearts instead of letting it roll past our ears. Corporate prayers aren’t just spoken, they’re led, and there is power in joining together with the person leading.
“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” -Matthew 18:19-20
What an opportunity, right? Just as there is power in singing truths about God on Sunday morning, there is power and encouragement to be found in going to God in prayer as a church. Each prayer is our chance to join in agreement with the words being prayed. We can speak to the Lord in unity, the kind of biblical unity that can see mountains moved and chains broken.
This Sunday, let’s embrace this chance and pray powerfully together. Using prayers as transitions likely won’t be going away in most church services, but that doesn’t mean that’s all they can be. Our prayers can be a beautiful gathering of hearts, joined together in love and heard by our Father in heaven.
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16
Jayson Lindley