The plurality of prayer
“Prayer is an art which only the Holy Spirit can teach us. He’s the Giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer. Pray till you can pray.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)1
If you were to ask me, “Which is more important, private personal prayer or public corporate prayer?” I would probably answer, “Yes.” That kind of question is like asking which leg should we walk on. Both private and public prayer are very important for our growth in the Lord. We should not have one without the other.
But there is a problem. Though I’m sure you do pray privately, how often have you spent time in corporate prayer—praying in public with others? Even in Japan, often the local church’s prayer meeting is another opportunity to sing, read the Bible, and hear a sermon. But when it comes to praying, it can become just a time to share prayer requests, and, because of lack of time, the prayer requests are quickly prayed for by one person or with everyone praying Korean-style—each one praying aloud together at the same time. Is that really the best way to have a prayer meeting? Is that really praying?
The model prayer
What is often called “the Lord’s Prayer” is really a model prayer that Jesus gave His disciples. So it would be better to call it “the Disciples’ Prayer.” The actual Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus Himself prayed, is found in John 17. But our model is found in Matthew 6:9–13.
Though I’m sure you know it, here it is (NASB 1995):
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’”
Did you see it? Notice the words I have emphasized. This prayer is quite different from most of our prayers, isn’t it? This prayer does not have the words “I” or “my” or “me.” Gene Getz calls this “rugged individualism” the hallmark of Western civilization. And I am afraid that we as missionaries have too often shared it with our Japanese brothers and sisters.
Getz says, “Why have we neglected the corporate emphasis on prayer found in Acts and the Epistles? . . . We use the personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘my’ and ‘me.’ We have not been taught to think in terms of ‘we’ and ‘our’ and ‘us.’ Consequently, we ‘individualize’ many references to corporate experience in the New Testament, thus often emphasizing personal prayer. More is said in Acts and the Epistles about corporate prayer, corporate learning of biblical truth, corporate evangelism, and corporate Christian maturity and growth than about the personal aspects of these Christian disciplines.”2
Praying in community
Sadly, many church leaders (and missionaries) struggle to maintain a vibrant private prayer life. One primary reason is that they don’t understand the great encouragement and needful balance of praying regularly with others. Both are vital, practically and biblically. We need to pray in community with other believers.
In Kōchi, we’ve had a monthly prayer time for pastors for over 20 years. It has been the catalyst for our city and prefecture going from a spiritual wasteland (with pastors pointing fingers at each other, leading to great disunity) to becoming a united community of saints. Every year, we have a Praise Worship Day, with many churches joining us for corporate worship and prayer. This came about as we prayed together and allowed God to speak to us and use us. Only He is worthy! Also, at the annual Prayer Summit for Western Japan, missionaries and pastors spend three days in prayer seeking God’s face and return to our churches revived and eager to see God work in our communities.
May we keep a resolute commitment to corporate prayer. The united prayer level of an organization or team never rises higher than the personal example and passion of its leaders. Let’s be prayerful leaders. May it be said of us what was said of Paul: “Behold, he is praying” (Acts 9:11).
1. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “Order and Argument in Prayer,” Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 12, July 15th, 1866. https://prayer-coach.com/prayer-quotes-charles-spurgeon/#11 (accessed November 28, 2024).
2. Gene Getz, Praying for One Another (Victor, 1982), 11.
Photo by Karen Ellrick