I agree with this brother and have been making notes for public prayer for several years. All week long, while reading the Scriptures, various verses jump out and are jotted down as fuel for prayer, in case being called upon to pray in public. These are categorized in different ways like “Lord’s Supper”, “national”, “offering”, “blessing on the worship service”, “sermon”, “fellowship” etc. etc.

I have seen that the “100% spontaneous prayers” of both myself & the brethren, many times, become too predictable & shallow (Mr. Spurgeon goes into this in “Only a Prayer Meeting”, email e_proverbs@yahoo.com for a free electronic copy.)

That being said however, I find that the Holy Spirit will not allow me to read 100% word-for-word off the page, & discern that He is not bearing me along very much if I try to force myself to do so. Thus, I use the notes as a major guide, but then leave room for the Peerless Spirit to guide me in ‘branching off’, as he leads. Remember, He knows the hearts of all present, & at times guides us to ’spontaneously’ say things that are needed by the specific sheep who are present at that very moment. This mixture of pre-preparation, mixed with spontenaity, provides the depth & variety to keep prayers from sounding shallow & the same every week, while maintaining an immediacy & Spirit-prompted freshness, lest the prayers sound dry, & a mere reading, or a recitation.

Preparation, intermixed with spontenaity! Christ gave us a general structure in the Lord’s prayer (for guidance, as a general ‘outline’, & to establish priorities), YET, in the apostolic prayers we do not see a rote recitation of the Lord’s prayer; they held to the general ‘outline’, but varied it with freshness each time, according to the specific situation at hand, & as the Spirit bore them along. See the prayers in Ep. 1 & 3 for example. David’s prayers were very specific to the immediate providences at hand. Jonah’s prayer from the fish’s belly clearly had in mind several of the Psalms, but it was also intermixed with spontenaity, some unique thoughts of his own.

Again, I highly commend Spurgeon’s thoughts on prayer in “Only a Prayer Meeting” as very edifying, very Biblical & very balanced.

Thanks for the thought provoking post. As I think about it, it seems that most of my public prayers lately have been pretty much the same. I pray spontaneously … but not really, not if my prayers tend to be the same pretty much every Sunday. In this case, am I not actually praying a kind of memorized prayer?

Perhaps writing them down first will help me to reflect more on what I am praying and will lead to richer content as you suggest.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Soli deo gloria!

Keith

Tom Johnson

The writing out of public prayers gives the prayer opportunity to check their approach into the throne room of God. Prayer writers take words seriously. They understand that their words become burning embers in the altar of heaven (Rev. 8:5). Today’s Christians need to recapture the Scripture’s understanding that words are serious business. From the time that God made use of words in creating the universe before the Fall, God makes use of our words today in recreating this universe after the cross of Christ. Elijah’s words were used to dry up the skies (I Kings 17:1), the believer’s faith and words have the potential of launching mountains into the sea, and healings were achieved by Jesus’ mere declaration “be healed!” Words have greater power and significance than our postmodern culture would like to believe.

As a prayer is written, revealed before the author’s eyes flashes the white light of power contained in the symbols of language. Just as the splitting of an atom can fill the sky with a flash of light and set the earth to rumbling from its force, so an author’s splicing and crafting of a written prayer is to be approached with precision and caution. For the author of a prayer realizes that when the Logos of Christ’s presence comes in contact with the corporate body’s faith in God, the power of heaven is unleashed on earth and humanity.

Maybe the Church should create a new sign to be posted during prayer time that reads:

Caution: Words in use. Handle with Care.

Just a thought.

If I sit down at my piano, I can create little ditties, and that’s fine. Why not put in time and learn some Mozart or Beethoven, make them my own, and then play them for the benefit of myself and others?

Nice conversations!

Good thoughts. One question though: when you say:

“I am pointing out a possible danger that can arise if we, as worship leaders, cannot speak these prayers in such a way that they sound… like prayer”

What does prayer sound like? Are our presuppositions about how prayer should sound taken mainly from spontaneous traditions? And if so, then we’re forever stuck in spontaneity if spontaneity is its own mark of verification (its authenticity or sincerity).

Is there a way to convey authenticity and sincerity apart from the presupposed authenticity and sincerity of spontaneity?

Also, when you say:

“Writing out a prayer I plan to use on Sunday can be a great benefit to the congregation and the effective leading of worship within the body, but it can also cause the congregation feel as if they are listening to a passage from a book instead of a the heartfelt prayer of a leader who is seeking to worship God with every word.”

Isn’t “listening to a passage from a book” essentially how we interact with Scripture? I suppose we could memorize Scripture and recite it in public, but it is still a recitation of material.

I think the deeper level of this discussion rests in the area of how authenticity and sincerity are verified in the worshipping community; and who’s presupposition of authenticity/sincerity is the controlling presupposition.

For example, like I said in the article, the early church’s presupposition for authenticity/sincerity would have been their ability to agree (say Amen) to the prayer that was prayed. Our presupposition for authenticity/sincerity might be how conversational, spontaneous, or personal the prayer is. Which one is right? I have no idea Perhaps both.

On the other hand, I have also listened as a worship leader has mechanically recited a written prayer that, despite its eloquence, has left myself and the rest of the congregation feeling somewhat disconnected. I am not by any means attacking written prayer. I am simply offering a caution to those who choose to use this method or “technique.” In my limited experience, written prayers often make the “pray-er” or leader seem distant and impersonal. The impersonality that can accompany written prayers is often more detrimental to the worshiper than a misplaced word or unclear phrase.

Written prayers are probably the most professional means to concisely communicate a message or prayer to a congregation; however, I am left to question, “is the person reading actually praying?” I am aware that there exists a long tradition of reciting written prayers throughout the history of the church. Unfortunately, this tradition left many Christians with the feeling that prayer is impersonal or a formal conversation, at best.

Once again, I am not attacking written prayers or suggesting that they should not be used. I am pointing out a possible danger that can arise if we, as worship leaders, cannot speak these prayers in such a way that they sound… like prayer. I feel that one of the most important things for a worship leader to remember is that any and all believers that they meet are family. If we are to effectively lead worship, musically, verbally, and physically, within God’s family, we must always strive to maintain sincerity and authenticity in all situations. Writing out a prayer I plan to use on Sunday can be a great benefit to the congregation and the effective leading of worship within the body, but it can also cause the congregation feel as if they are listening to a passage from a book instead of a the heartfelt prayer of a leader who is seeking to worship God with every word.

As with every area of worship leading, the question if not “does this look and sound good?” The question is “does this glorify God and effectively point people toward Him?” As a worship leader, I should prepare for worship and lead with all that I am, but I must also leave room for God to speak though me and make sure that everything I do facilitates the passionate worship of God among His people.