Leading Corporate Prayer

Most ministers understand the importance of prayer. Along with the apostles, they recognize the need to give the greater balance of their time to “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). And these two disciplines of prayer and Word are especially visible as the preacher stands weekly in the pulpit.

While there are many occasions for corporate prayer, I’d like to focus on the prayer we offer immediately after reading the biblical passage we intend to preach. Assuming we do read the passage, the prayer that follows should help listeners reflect upon what they have just heard and prepare them for the sermon.

Too often, it seems, this prayer can appear as little more than a formality, rushed, or even ignored to move on to the sermon. On the other hand, a lengthy or unfocused prayer may equally impede worship.

Here then, are five reminders when leading a public prayer for the sermon:

Keep It Brief

As we will soon be delivering a thorough exposition of a biblical passage, a brief two to three-sentence prayer will generally suffice to prepare our listeners for the study—for example: “Our Father, we ask Your Holy Spirit to be our teacher this morning as we bow to the authority of Your Word. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.” On the other hand, a lengthier prayer risks the possibility of “losing” some of our hearers before we have begun.

Charles Spurgeon offers similar advice in a famous lecture on public prayer: “Only one in a thousand would complain of you for being too short, while scores will murmur at your being wearisome in length.” ¹

Keep It Simple

The brief prayer preceding our sermon is not a time to introduce new theological words or other ideas that may detract from the text. Instead, this is an opportunity simply to ask God to impart His grace upon the sermon.

Keep It Corporate

When praying, we must remember we are not speaking for ourselves only but actually “leading” all present to talk to God. Using plural, first-person pronouns “we,” “our,” and “ourselves” reminds our listeners that we all stand on equal footing as we together look to Him for grace.

Keep It Purposeful

Avoid preaching in the prayer. If we’ve prepared well, the sermon will do the preaching. However, we must allow the prayer to be that purposeful moment we take our people to God Himself, addressing Him only and asking for His aid.

Keep It Fresh

Because we preach so often, our pulpit prayers, unfortunately, can become dry or repetitive.

One way to avoid staleness or predictability is to incorporate language into our prayer from the very text we are preaching. Consider, for example, this prayer after reading James 1:22-25: “Lord, give us grace this morning that we would be both hearers and doers of the Word. And may our obedience in both listening and living bring glory to You.” 

Alternatively, many of the Psalms contain helpful intercessions that are useful in our prayers. From Psalm 46:1, for example, we might pray: “God, You are our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble. We ask for Your help this morning as we study Your Word.” 

However you choose to pray this weekend, may these reminders help you lead your congregation to the throne of grace! (Hebrews 4:16)

Previous Comments:

1. directorfsmExcellent advice. Far too often folks try and sound overtly pious and that comes across wrong.
2. Comment by post authorTodd Linn, PhDSo true. Thank you, brother.

1. Lectures To My Students (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1890), 97.