Public Prayers

Praying aloud in public is tricky business.  Jesus sounded a warning when He said, "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others." (Matthew 6:5). Another word of caution is offered a few verses later as Jesus says, "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." (Matthew 6:7). As one who has offered several thousand pastoral prayers over forty years for congregations, I have come to value this means of intercession while understanding some of the dangers of such praying.   

One way to speak of what is happening with the congregation when public prayers are offered is that it is an opportunity to sweep up the diverse needs of the gathered people and offer them to God.  Anyone who pauses before praying to look the congregation in the eye understands that such a moment is not one to be entered lightly.  Every gathered congregation of God's people collectively bring enough hurts, disappointments, and brokenness to fill more than one large bucket.  Bringing the congregation to a place where each one feels that the offered prayers has touched the needs of their heart is no easy task, but is surely the goal of any spiritual leader who seeks to be pastoral and priestly in the moment of intercessory prayer.   

The one who offers public prayer in worship wants people to not only listen, but to be so caught up that affirming words like "Yes, Lord," or "Amen" are rising from the heart.  For the congregation the morning prayer, or the pastoral prayer, should be not just a moment for listening, but a moment for praying alongside the one whose voice is leading them before the throne of grace and mercy.  Such moments within worship are not spectator moments, but times for participation in the intercession.  While it may be true that only one person's voice is being heard, it is the congregation praying silently underneath the spoken words which surely speeds the heart and spirit of the praying toward heaven.