The Power of the Pastoral Prayer
Dan Wetzel
Sunday morning worship is highly predictable. It begins with several praise songs led by talented musicians whose vocal talents far exceed my own. Often the songs are introduced with a few words that have been appropriately chosen to focus the congregation on the meaning of the anthem. With the “worship set” ended, a speaker assumes his place behind a lectern at the front of the congregation and the sermon begins. When the sermon concludes, there may be another song or a brief prayer and on que, the congregation begins to disperse. It is an established pattern now well entrenched in evangelical churches. Generally, these experiences are neither unpleasant nor unprofitable, but they lack one significant element. There is no meaningful corporate prayer.
The absence of prayer from our worship services is telling. It betrays a superficial understanding of worship, and the important role corporate prayer plays in the health and vitality of the church. Corporate prayer is an essential tool for disciplemaking, just as the sermon is an indispensable means of encouraging and training believers in their walk with our Lord. The absence of thoughtful prayer representing the needs of the entire church when gathered, lowers the spiritual temperature of the congregation. It deprives the church of an important source of weekly renewal and nourishment.
Most worship services are designed to express love and devotion to Christ, as well as “prepare” the congregation for the sermon to follow the songs. They are missing another important goal. Corporate worship is also intended to disciple believers, and one of the primary means of doing so is through prayer. Though Paul begins his letter to the Colossians with an anthem to the supremacy of Christ, he also tells believers, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col 3:16). Thus, a biblically oriented worship experience has both a vertical and horizontal perspective. It is reverently structured to edify believers, as well as lead them in expressions of praise and thanksgiving to God for his mercy, grace, and forgiveness. And while preaching may be the most significant single means of edification, it is not the only one. Singing, the primary content of which must be guided by Scripture, plays a role too. In this way believers “admonish” one another. In other words, we disciple one another! But Paul adds additional instructions in Colossians 4:2, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Worship gatherings that do not include more than a passing “thank you Lord for your goodness,” miss the point. Prayer is a “together” exercise, as well as an individual discipline. When it is omitted from our worship services, we neglect an important means of strengthening believers and building the congregation’s sense of dependance and trust in Christ.
“Corporate worship is also intended to disciple believers, and one of the primary means of doing so is through prayer.”
That is why I believe we must return pastoral prayers to Sunday worship. I am not arguing for the lengthy, arcane, and, honestly, boring prayers I recall from my youth. Nor am I advocating for “word salad” prayers that expose a prayer leader’s lack of preparation. I am encouraging thoughtful, well-designed prayer that expresses conscious dependance upon Christ as Lord. The absence of well-crafted, thoughtful pastoral prayer not only represents a departure from centuries of church practice, but it is also a missed opportunity to intercede on behalf of the body of Christ. The pastoral prayer is not called “pastoral” because it is offered by members of the pastoral staff, or the church’s elders, though that may be the case. The prayer is intended to shepherd the church. It is intended to lead the church to Christ. It is a means of guiding the congregation to the throne of grace by acknowledging Jesus’ role as its Head. Pastoral prayers also set a pattern for personal prayer. Thoughtful prayers of this sort do not “preach,” but they do teach by example. Honest, sincere prayers offered in public by godly leaders encourage others to pray with equal honesty and sincerity in private.
The off handed prayers that pepper the “worship time” in our services often include short missives designed to express our adoration or thanksgiving to God. They should. When there are special needs, they may also include supplication. And they should. The element they are most often missing is confession, represented by the second letter in the familiar acronym for an ordered prayer: ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). Confession, however, may be the most important element of all. Believers often carry the burdens of a difficult week and a sense of frequent failure with them to church on Sunday morning. They arrive for worship aware of sins committed and good deeds omitted. Both of those shortcomings must be confessed, if they are to be forgiven. There is no need to carry those burdens out of the sanctuary when God’s Word authorizes the church to declare Christ’s forgiveness for confessed sin. So, the pastoral prayer must lead people to confession. Jesus said that whatever the church bound on earth would be bound in heaven, and whatever she loosed on earth was loosed in heaven (Mat 18:18). We must not lose the opportunity to free Christ’s followers from their burdens. Thoughtful, honest, and sincere pastoral prayers allow us to repeat God’s promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Every pastoral prayer ought to begin with words of adoration and praise that emphasizes the greatness and glory of God’s character. It should also include thanksgiving for the blessing God has granted the church. Certainly, it is both needed and appropriate to seek God’s provision for the body’s every spiritual and physical need. But unless our prayer also acknowledges sin and expresses repentance, it is incomplete and perhaps unheard. Worship is intended to lift burdens and encourage men and women of faith to trust in God’s promise of forgiveness. But if it is to be forgiven, sin must be confessed. Only then, after thanking God for his unending grace, should we be free to ask for whatever the congregation wishes in Jesus’ name.
If this is to be accomplished in a pastoral prayer, our prayer must be planned with every bit as much purpose as our sermons. I recommend that the elders, or whoever is authorized to represent the church as a community of faith, write their prayers in advance. It takes time and spiritual alertness for the congregation’s shepherds to consider the collective spiritual need and to put it in words. Thoughtful prayers are seldom crafted in the spur of the moment. Prayers that disciple are well thought out. Of course, it is appropriate to pray for individual needs as well (with permission of course). But the real objective is to pray for the whole church, its need, its opportunities, and its dependence upon the Lord. As we know from Jesus’ messages to the churches in the Revelation, Jesus is concerned about the welfare of the church corporately and not only the individuals within it. Some of the most profound prayers may be taken directly from God’s Word.
Pastoral prayers should not be long: no longer than two or three minutes. For members of the church today, listening as an elder speaks to God on their behalf can seem like it takes forever. People have become addicted to instant messaging and sound bites. So, if the purpose is for others to join their thoughts with ours (as it is) then public prayer must be kept short. Nehemiah’s prayer is a good example (Nehemiah 1). He moves quickly from adoration to confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Notable church leaders in the past recommended short prayers. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (5th century), preferred “very brief, quickly dispatched prayers.” Thomas Aquinas (13th century) said that frequency, not length, was important. He said many short prayers are of more worth than a few lengthy ones. Martin Luther (16th century) also advised prayers to be short, noting that few words and rich meaning are Christian, and many words and little meaning are pagan. The Lutheran theologian Jacob Boehme (17th century) advised that “many words are not needed, but only a believing, repentant soul.” And Dwight Moody (19th century) insisted, “A man who prays much in private, will make short prayers in public.” He believed that lengthy public prayers were pretentious. Remember, the goal is to lead the congregation to join you in each element of the pastoral prayer. If the prayer is too long, many people will lose their concentration. And did not Jesus say, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Mat 6:7-8).
Finally, we must remember that we are Christians. “God-talk” will not do. We approach God the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit on behalf of the body of Christ. Our prayers should reflect our theology. We pray in Jesus’ name. That means our prayer ought to be saturated with the gospel. We can pray boldly because Jesus is our high priest. As Hebrews says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
“Finally, we must remember that we are Christians. ‘God-talk’ will not do. We approach God the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit on behalf of the body of Christ. Our prayers should reflect our theology.”
There are times when I have been hesitant to begin the sermon because the moments following an elder’s prayer are holy, the congregation is still, and it is evident that the Spirit is at work. We must allow the Spirit to do so. Thoughtful pastoral prayers do more than prepare the church for a sermon. They transform worship and they transform lives too. The impact is cumulative. Pastoral prayers unify the church. They focus its attention on Christ’s role as its Chief Shepherd. They bring health to unhealthy congregations.