What do I pray when leading worship?

As I’ve spoken to leaders of worship for years, one of their greatest fears is praying in public. It’s OK to sing and play their instruments because that’s comfortable, but when it comes to integrating prayer into the worship service, they baulk at the idea and want to leave it to the pastor or another church leader.  Almost everybody takes the whole idea of praying very seriously – as they should – but often feel overwhelmed by the responsibility and underprepared.

I mean… what does one pray? What words do you use? This is serious stuff… what if my theology is a little under-developed? What if I say something wrong? Other people seem to do it so well, and I’ll feel like I won’t cut it.

Praying in public can be very daunting. So where do you start and what do you say?

This is a significant issue, so I might split it over a couple of weeks… and let me encourage you, whilst we need to take it seriously, we also need to relax. We are all God’s precious children and He loves us. Added to that, the Holy Spirit interprets our best motives and moans… God understands us better than we think!!

Firstly… a few thoughts to begin with…

• Worship is prayer. It’s reasonable to assume that all worship is prayer and prayer is worship. Any time our hearts reach out to God and our ears are inclined to Him, in such a way that it involves a growing, intimate connection … that’s prayer. But of course, I want to focus primarily on spoken prayer, so read on…
• Praying in public is a Pastoral ministry. What I mean by that, is that you need to love people, and be tuned to their concerns and fears, their needs and struggles; their hopes and joys.
• Praying in public will be most effective coming from leader of worship that has a vibrant & consistent prayer life.  If you don’t pray in private … don’t pray in public. Someone once said that you can tell a person’s intimacy with God in the way they pray. Make sure your public prayers come from a life of personal devotion.
•  Whilst many churches have shifted away from published prayer books and choose to pray spontaneous prayers (which is perfectly fine – that’s how I pray), it doesn’t mean that those praying shouldn’t have a prepared prayer of their own. There is nothing wrong with writing out a prayer that issues from your connection with God and people, especially if you are new to praying in public, and praying that pre-prepared prayer in the service. It will help you grow in this area, as well as (potentially) minister deeply to those for whom you are praying.

The bottom line is that prayer is a vital and necessary part of worship. It speaks of the character of our God, it shows our reliance on God, it declares our intimacy with our Father and so much more. It’s little wonder why Jesus valued prayer, especially in the house of God. (Luke 19:46). Indeed, His whole life was drenched in prayer.

Next blog, I will give you some thoughts and ideas about how to pray in public.

Share your experiences & struggles in making prayer an integral part of the worship experience.

 

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