Public prayer is the worship of the church presented audibly through
its representative or leader. The minister gives vocal expression to
the devotions of the assembly. But it is more than this. The public
prayer not only gives a voice to the devotions of the people: it
stimulates the thoughts and desires of the assembly, and gives
direction and form to them, so that their hearts are quickened and
borne heavenward by the prayer of the leader. It is here the pastor's
heart touches most directly the hearts of the people, and all the
spiritual forces of his nature are felt, inspiring, guiding, and
helping souls in their approach to God. Power here, therefore, depends,
not so much on the observance of any special rules, however judicious,
as on a soul habitually living in the Spirit, and thus profoundly
realizing spiritual verities and sympathizing with the experiences and
necessities of men. A few suggestions, however, may be of value, and we
consider--
1. THE FORM.--It should ordinarily be unwritten. Liturgical forms are
to be rejected for several reasons: they have no example in the
Scriptures; they did not come into use until the general corruption of
worship; they serve to repress and fetter a devotional spirit both in
the minister and the people; and they cannot be adapted to the varied,
special exigencies of the congregation. But prayer, though
extemporaneous in form, is not necessarily unpremeditated. The mind
should, if possible, be lifted into the sphere of devotion and filled
with the subjects of petition by previous reflection. Too often the
pastor is anxious only for the sermon, and leaves the prayer, both in
matter and form, to the moment of utterance; and an ordinary result is
the repetition of solemn commonplaces which fail to inspire and lead
the devotions of the congregation.
2. THE MATTER.--The best materials for prayer are derived from the
following sources: (1.) The devotional parts of Scripture, made
familiar by constant study. Bible thoughts in Bible imagery are best,
because so sacredly linked with the experiences of all Christian
hearts. These never grow old, and they afford endless variety and
freshness. The mind should be thoroughly imbued with their spirit and
stored with their forms of expression. (2.) Secret prayer, constantly
maintained, with a deep and rich personal experience. More than any
other exercise, public prayer is the outflow of the minister's inner
life. His holiest experiences, gathered on his knees in secret, here
find unpremeditated expression, and elevate and enrich and spiritualize
the acts of public devotion. (3.) A full, heartfelt sympathy with the
life of the people, in their temptations, their sorrows, their hopes,
and their dangers. Their pastor's life should touch the life of his
people on every side, and his heart beat in perpetual sympathy with
them. Only thus can he truly lead them in presenting their hearts'
desires before God. The mere recluse whose life is with books and not
with men, who deals with ideas and not with experiences, may utter an
elegant, and even an eloquent, prayer; but he has no power to inspire
and lead souls, in these acts of public devotion, to come with all
their needs to the Throne of Grace.
In respect to the matter of prayer, the following cautions are to be
observed: Avoid, (1.) Frequent references to self. The minister is the
medium of the devotions of the people; whatever, therefore, cannot
properly be uttered by the assembly should not, ordinarily, be uttered
by the pastor. Any intimations in the prayer respecting the pastor's
health or the pressure of his work, intended as an apology for a poor
sermon or as deprecating an unfavorable criticism of it, indicate an
unmanly weakness which is unworthy of the pulpit and is quickly felt by
the discerning. A petition asking Divine help for the pastor in his
work is indeed eminently fitting, for in this the assembly may
naturally unite; but when associated with an apologetic purpose,
looking only to the ear of the people, such a prayer savors of impiety.
(2.) Personalities. Cases of deep affliction do indeed occur, which
move the sympathy of a whole community, and in which the person or
family specially afflicted may properly be directly alluded to in
prayer; and this is true, also, of any cases in which special request
has been made for the prayers of God's people. But beyond these limits
it is seldom wise to pass. Compliment or criticism in public prayer is
especially to be avoided. The temptation to this is often great when
another has preached for you; but plainly the time and place alike make
it unbefitting thus to publish the pastor's estimate of a
brother-minister's character or sermon. (3.) All admonition or
scolding. This, though it is clothed in the language of prayer to God,
is, and will be felt to be, intended for the ear of man; and, as in the
preceding cases, it is an offensive form of hypocrisy. But in this
case, there is ordinarily the added element of moral cowardice; for the
man utters in prayer to God what he would fear, when looking his people
in the face, to speak directly to them. (4.) A didactic, doctrinal
method in prayer. This is improper alike in that it assumes the tone of
instructing God, and in that it is contrary to the nature of prayer.
For prayer is not a sermon; it is the outflowing of religious emotion
and desire toward God. It is, indeed a means of instruction, but it
teaches through the medium of the emotional rather than the logical
faculties. Prayer, therefore, should never take the logical form, but
should ever be an expression, not dominantly of the intellect, but of
the heart.
3. THE ORDER.--Order in the topics has many advantages. It concentrates
attention on one subject at a time, thus increasing the interest of
both minister and people. It aids the memory, thus avoiding the
omission of necessary subjects, and leaving the mind unconfused in
recalling them. An unarranged, confused prayer, in which the mind
utters at haphazard whatever may first enter it, must always fail of
the true ends of public worship. A natural and common order is this:
invocation, adoration, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and
intercession. Invocation recognizes dependence on the Divine Helper,
the Holy Spirit, and implores His presence and aid. In adoration the
character, perfections, and works of God are celebrated, usually
employing largely for this the language and imagery of the Scripture,
which in variety and beauty has here a wealth simply inexhaustible.
Thanksgiving naturally comprehends the whole range of providential
mercies which attend our earthly life, personal, local, and national,
and also all those spiritual blessings which spring from the Gospel in
the experiences and hopes of the personal life, and in the associations
and helps and prospects of the church of God. Confession presents alike
the individual soul, the church as a body, and the community in the
attitude of penitence, acknowledging its sins and failures and humbly
recognizing the rectitude of the Divine judgment. Petition is prayer
offered in behalf of our own needs, imploring for the individual soul
and for the church, not only providential favors, but also Divine
illumination, penitence for sin, faith in Christ, victory in
temptation, support in trial, growth in all the graces of Christian
character, and success in all the efforts of Christian labor.
Intercession relates more distinctly to those without us--the families
represented in the congregation, the Sunday-school and its work, the
afflicted, the unconverted, other Christian congregations in the
vicinity, the community with its varied interests, the nation and its
rulers, and the great missionary work in its various departments and
spheres of effort. Each of these topics furnishes within itself a wide
range of subjects for prayer, and the pastor whose soul is in living
sympathy with his people and his work, if he makes proper preparation,
may give to this part of worship an endless variety and make it an
exercise of immense power. No one order, however, should be invariable,
for it leads to sameness of thought and language, and thus has all the
disadvantages of a stereotyped form, with none of the advantages of a
liturgy. The order, with the selection of leading subjects in it,
should be a matter of careful premeditation, so that there may be
variety in the general plan of the prayer, while yet there is no
omission of necessary topics and no confusion. Within such a general
plan of prayer, mentally prearranged, there will still be the amplest
scope for those impromptu utterances which the heart or the occasion
may suggest.
4. THE MANNER.--This is not less important than in preaching, and
should be carefully considered, for the danger of false habits here is
even greater than in the sermon, because in prayer the mind is less
disposed to be self-critical. And here: (1.) As to the posture of the
body. The Scriptures sanction both standing and kneeling. It should be
an attitude of reverence. Ordinarily there should be no gesticulation.
The eyes should be closed, the countenance natural and serious. The
speaker should remember that all eyes before him are not closed, and
any distortion or mal-expression of his countenance, however innocent
on his part, is sure to be observed and provoke thought and comment.
(2.) The language should be simple, devout, and scriptural. All
rhetorical flourishes and attempts at eloquence; all terms of
endearment and familiarity with God; all accumulation of the Divine
names in one expression, or use of frequent interjections, as oh! ah!
etc.; and all vulgarisms and oddities of expression, are to be
carefully avoided; they destroy the spirit of worship. The vulgar and
thoughtless may applaud, but the judicious and prayerful will be
grieved; and all such characteristics in prayer weaken the moral power
of a minister and lessen his usefulness. Reverence, naturalness,
simplicity, are essential in public devotion. (3.) The tone of voice
should be the natural expression of supplication. The faults especially
to be avoided here are such as these: a boisterous tone, which, while
it adds no force to the petition, wearies both minister and hearer; an
arrogant, commanding tone, which is suggestive of irreverence; and a
whining, complaining tone. These false tones often originate in an
unnatural position of the head, which is thrown back, with face turned
upward; or forward, with face down, and the organs of the voice thus
injured. Throat disease among ministers is due very largely to the
unnatural use of the vocal organs in prayer. Great care should be
exercised that the position of the head and the tone of the voice be
perfectly natural.
It is obvious that in public prayer a spirit imbued with Divine
influences is higher than all rules; it instinctively recognizes the
true proprieties of prayer; and this, therefore, is chiefly to be
sought. Nor do I forget that the mental and spiritual idiosyncrasies of
the man must here, as in preaching, largely influence the manner, and
may sometimes justify in one what in another would be offensive. But
success in this service is so vital to the interest of public worship,
while failure is so frequent, that a pastor should exercise constant
self-scrutiny, often reviewing his prayers to detect their defects, and
often timing them so as to know their length. The young pastor,
especially, should select some judicious, confidential friend in his
congregation who will faithfully point out defects, and should thus, by
a rigid process of self-discipline, secure at the outset of his
ministry right habits of prayer. For then while body and mind are yet
plastic, the power of a false habit may be broken, and the man may be
molded anew; but a few years' persistence will fix the habit beyond
possible change, and ensure its weakening, perhaps fatal, power through
life.