Views: 7<\/p>
[Note:\u00a0 <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Longer Articles<\/strong>\u00a0 page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Introduction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n We will always need to periodically review the Scriptural elements of acceptable prayer (i.e., to the Father, through the Son, in faith, according to God\u2019s will, etc.). However, it is not these matters which I wish to discuss at present, but I rather wish to offer some observations relating to the prayers that are led in our worship assemblies. My aim is not to find fault, but to call attention to (1) some of the practical aspects of these prayers that we may sometimes overlook and (2) some Scriptural principles that may apply to them. I am not offering my comments as \u201claw,\u201d but rather as brotherly suggestions, which I hope will be helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n The Lord warned about using \u201cvain repetitions\u201d (Mat. 6:7) <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Jesus said that the motive of some was to be \u201cheard for their much speaking.\u201d They apparently piled up the same words and phrases time after time, thinking \u201cthe longer the better,\u201d to impress the hearers. Such mindless repetition was worthless.<\/span><\/p>\n I believe I have heard some prayers over the years that might qualify for this description. This might be occurring when the same brother prays the same prayer invariably each time he is the prayer leader. It is hard not to conclude that such a memorized prayer could be prayed with one\u2019s mind far away. It might be happening also when a brother repeats a single phrase several times in the same prayer (e.g., \u201cWe just pray that…\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n Constant repetition in prayer may evince a lack of preparation, contemplation, concentration, or even extreme nervousness. The obvious cure for this problem is for the prayer leader to invest some sincere thought in advance of his time to lead, if possible. Among other things, such forethought will give him confidence and help dispel any nervousness he may have.<\/span><\/p>\n Mere repetition in itself is not vain. Our Lord prayed the same prayer three times in a very short time span in Gethsemane (Mat. 26:39\u201344), none of which were in any wise vain.<\/span><\/p>\n The Lord warned about \u201clong prayers\u201d for pretense (Mark 12:40) <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Long <\/em>is admittedly a relative term, but most recognize a \u201clong\u201d prayer, as compared with one of \u201cordinary\u201d length. I have heard some prayers that were of such extended length (and of such verbiage) that they appeared to be addressed more to men than to God. One brother where I preached several years ago would ramble on and on, inventing some words each time he led a prayer (an affected British accent, specially reserved for his prayers, made the sincerity of his prayer further suspect). Some members of that congregation thought his prayers were grand, so perhaps he achieved his goal.<\/span><\/p>\n All who lead public prayers need to remember as we pray that it is God, not men, Whom we are wanting to impress and Whose attention we seek. Prayers, like sermons (as I have been told more than once) need not be eternal to be immortal. However, a prayer is not rendered unacceptable merely because it is long. Jesus prayed at least one \u201clong\u201d prayer (John 17). The most important issue just here is not the length, but the motivation <\/strong>of the prayer. Short prayers can also be prayed from the wrong motivation and thus be a mere pretense.<\/span><\/p>\n Private prayers and public prayers are sometimes confused <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The leader of a public prayer should remember that he is not bringing only his personal petitions before God. He is leading the entire congregation <\/strong>in its combined petitions. Obviously, the prayer leader has failed to bear this in mind when he uses the first-person singular pronoun, I<\/em>, instead of the first-person plural pronoun, we<\/em>, in his prayer. Each pronoun of a public prayer that refers to the petitioners should be the first person plural (i.e., \u201cWe [not I] thank Thee…,\u201d \u201cWe [not I] ask Thee…,\u201d \u201cPlease bless us [not me]…,\u201d et al.).<\/span><\/p>\n Ironically, preachers are sometimes the worst offenders on this point. I have heard preachers lead long prayers in their own behalf before beginning their sermons. Never mind that some brother may have led a prayer only three minutes earlier that included the preacher. If I were that prayer leader, I would infer from the preacher\u2019s compulsion to pray that he must have thought my prayer was insipid. The preacher would do well to do his personal praying in private.<\/span><\/p>\n Without wishing to judge motives, this practice smacks of pseudo-piety and of a superior air that seeks to call attention to oneself. When I am invited to preach, whether at home or elsewhere, I assume the brethren want me to preach. If they want me to lead a prayer or a song or serve at the Lord\u2019s table, I assume they will ask me to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n Some fail to remember Whom they are addressing <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This reminder applies to those who lead prayers at the Lord\u2019s table. It is common to hear a prayer similar to the following: \u201cFather, we thank Thee for this bread\/fruit of the vine, which represents Thy <\/strong>body\/blood.\u201d Of course, it was not the Father\u2019s body or blood (He never had either), but that of His Son, Who \u201cbecame flesh, and dwelt among us\u201d (John 1:14). We should rather say: \u201cFather, we thank Thee for this bread\/fruit of the vine, which memorializes the body\/blood of Thy Son,<\/strong>\u201d or something similar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another instance of this failure is one\u2019s expression of thanks to other human beings in a prayer to God. More than once, before potluck meals, I’ve heard the prayer leader say, after thanking God for the food: \u00a0\u201cWe thank these ladies who prepared and served this food.\u201d I am sure that what he meant to do was to thank God <\/strong>for those hard-working ladies, but he thanked the ladies instead! One can\/should certainly thank them directly, but in a prayer to God is not the place to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n We should avoid the \u201cjust\u201d syndrome <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As I travel and visit congregations in various places, I frequently hear prayer leaders using the word just <\/em>repeatedly, some before almost every request (e.g., \u201cWe just pray that Thou wilt bless…,\u201d \u201cWe just thank Thee for…,\u201d \u201cWe just beg Thy forgiveness…,\u201d et al.). Webster gives two synonyms for this usage of just<\/em>: \u201conly\u201d and \u201cmerely.\u201d If just <\/em>is used in such phrases in the sense of only<\/em>, as in \u201cI have just (only) a nickel in my pocket,\u201d I fail to see the appropriateness or even the sense of such usage. To thank or ask God for \u201cjust\u201d one thing and then in the same prayer thank Him for \u201cjust\u201d one or more additional things is actually contradictory nonsense.<\/span><\/p>\n It makes no more sense to use just <\/em>in the sense of merely<\/em>, for Webster defines it as \u201capart from anything else\u201d\u2014identical to the sense of only <\/em>as illustrated above. However, merely <\/em>has also taken on the connotation of no more than<\/em>, or something small or insignificant (e.g., \u201cI merely asked you to give me a nickel\u201d). Surely, the prayer leader does not mean this when he prays, \u201cWe just [merely] ask for the forgiveness of our sins.\u201d Is our forgiveness, which cost the blood of God\u2019s sinless Son, of no more significance than just <\/em>implies in this context?<\/span><\/p>\n My guess is that brethren who use this term in their prayers have not considered its implications. I am not aware of any prayer in all of the Bible in which this or similar terminology is employed. I have noticed over the years, as I have attended funerals in which denominational preachers (especially Baptists) led prayers, that they frequently use this wording. Only in very recent years have some of our brethren begun using it. I suggest that those who have picked up just <\/em>in their prayers \u201cjust\u201d take it back to where it came from\u2014denominational jargon\u2014and leave it there.<\/span><\/p>\n We would do well to discard the \u201cready recollection\u201d verbiage <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n It is common to hear prayer leaders ask God to give the preacher a \u201cready recollection\u201d of what he has studied. It is one of those several memorized, habitually used phrases that have crept into our \u201cprayer language\u201d over the years. I have long had difficulty with this wording for two reasons: (1) what the prayer leader means by it is ambiguous at best, and (2) it could easily be misinterpreted in favor of a serious false concept.<\/span><\/p>\n In no case of which I am aware did the brother thus praying believe that the Lord was going to give the preacher special powers of memory or preparation, beyond whatever preparation he had made for the occasion. The Lord gave the apostles this very power: \u201cBe not anxious beforehand [premeditate, KJV] what ye shall speak: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit\u201d (Mark 13:11b). This promise is unalterably tied to the miraculous age when the Holy Spirit directly and immediately provided this and other wonderful powers\u2014an age long-since passed with the completion of God\u2019s revelation.<\/span><\/p>\n On many occasions I have wished for (and needed) such memory help, but I knew that it would be futile to pray for it. In a day when some are claiming such direct help and strength from the Spirit, the \u201cready recollection\u201d terminology could easily be inferred as agreement therewith.<\/span><\/p>\n [Note: <\/strong>This MS was originally written for and published as an \u201cEditor\u2019s Clippings\u201d column in the April 2003 edition of THE GOSPEL JOURNAL<\/em>, of which I was Editor at the time.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 7[Note:\u00a0 This MS is available in larger font on our Longer Articles\u00a0 page.] Introduction We will always need to periodically review the Scriptural elements of acceptable prayer (i.e., to the Father, through the Son, in faith, according to God\u2019s will, etc.). However, it is…<\/p>\n