Lord’s Library contributor Jared Helms offers a corporate prayer meaning, with key Scriptures; altogether before the throne. Check out Jared’s YouTube channel and two blogs: A Light in the Darkness and Blind Faith Examples, or send him a reader response email. Lord’s Library’s Ministry Leaders Series is a collection of contributed articles written by ministry leaders on key Christian topics.
Let it first be understood that corporate prayer must necessarily follow private prayer. In a community, we pray from the overflow of our private devotions. And what we gain from the communal devotion we carry into our private prayers, the two go together, but the individual precedes the corporate. This is no different than any other relationship, the bulk of the work of building the relationship happens away from the masses.
By the same token, public prayer can seem awkward, forced, dole, or dry. In some cases, these sensations come from an acute awareness of the human audience, and in other cases from an unawareness of the Divine audience. Of course, the former contributes to the latter, and the latter to the former, and altogether we end up with a display of prayer for public consumption lacking any sort of substance. What I really mean to say is a lot of public praying is dead. Dead prayers are not fun to participate in, or even to witness. So, some of us will, understandably, have a poor feeling about public prayers.
Corporate Prayer Meaning
Matthew 6:6 may be taken as a prohibition against any sort of corporate prayer: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
However, Jesus prayed publicly. See Matthew 14:19, Matthew 19:13, and Luke 9:28:
- Matthew 14:19: “And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
- Matthew 19:13: “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.”
- Luke 9:28: “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.”
John 17 records one of our Lord’s prayers as well.
Corporate prayer is seen throughout the Old Testament among God’s people See Joel 1:14, Daniel 2:17-18, Nehemiah 9:3-4, and 2 Chronicles 20:3-4:
- Joel 1:14: “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD.”
- Daniel 2:17-18: “Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”
- Nehemiah 9:3-4: “And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God. Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.”
- 2 Chronicles 20:3-4: “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.”
It is also the practice of the early Church. See Acts 1:14, Acts 2:42, Acts 4:24-31, Acts 12:5, Acts 12:12, and Acts 20:36:
- Acts 1:14: “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
- Acts 2:42: “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
- Acts 4:24-31: “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
- Acts 12:1: “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.”
- Acts 12:5: “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”
- Acts 20:36: “And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.”
The Apostles in writing to churches commend and command prayer to the whole church.
See 1 Timothy 2:1-8: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
Therefore, what is properly condemned in Matthew 6:6 is a public performance of prayer for the sake of drawing attention to one’s self. No one needs to be impressed by your prayer. Trying to impress people misses the whole point and makes us like the proud Pharisee showing off in the temple while nearby a humble sinner succeeded in piercing the veil of Heaven.
See Luke 18:9-14: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
At the same time, all of your brothers and sisters, and especially your family, need to be impressed with your prayers. The souls in the community around your own need to feel your prayers pressing into their lives: particularly if you are responsible for shepherding those souls. It is one thing to do this work in private, but there is a certain ministry of support that is accomplished when others know you are covering their lives in earnest prayer.
See Galatians 6:2: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Corporate prayer is the fulfillment of this command and of many others like it. James 5:16 further enforces this understanding: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Corporate prayer is the greatest form of fellowship. There is no other means which so well accomplishes the purpose of fellowship as praying together. See Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
The activity of preaching when rightly practiced by the whole congregation comes close. See 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, and Isaiah 55:11:
- 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
- 2 Timothy 4:1-5: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
- Isaiah 55:11: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
And the corporate singing of good hymns and songs is not far behind. See Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
It may even be said that a church that does not pray together has no meaningful fellowship. At no other time are the children so closely communing with one another and all together with their Father in Heaven who has joined them in eternal fellowship. See Matthew 6:9: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
In The Autobiography of George Muller, George Muller said: “Our prayer meetings have been a blessing to us and united us more than ever in the work.”
When sin overtakes us, it is with prayer that brothers and sisters may come to our aid, fighting with fervent words to the Almighty against the evil forces of the world, flesh, and devil. It is with heartfelt prayers that souls are delivered, and not with gossip. Too many prayer meetings are wrecked by an unloving and unedifying interest in other’s shame.
We confess our sins so little to others, for others so often fail to be broken over our confession, and so much pleased with it. We fail to confess our sins to one another because we are far too interested in our reputation, and far too little interested in our righteousness. O, that we might come again to church business meetings where sins are brought to light, and those implicated beg that the whole matter be laid bare so that all might be treated with the intercession of their faith family.
We make our struggle with sin entirely too private.
O and let us not neglect the plight of those dear souls who have grown faint in the rigors of the journey, and they who have become weary in their work, and those also who have suffered grave injury, and all the rest who struggle to draw near to God. What of them? Must they drag themselves from the ditches, and through the deserts, and deep valleys? Why? Why so, when we are near to take them up on our shoulders and bear them near to the great Physician?
Corporate prayer is the time and place for all the weak, weary, and wounded to find help in finding ultimate help. I say to you all this: the ministry of praying directly with those who need it is something truly wonderful that we ought not to discard. I cannot do for everyone what needs to be done, but I can pray for anyone who has need, and the God to whom I pray is able to exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask or dream. Amen.
There is also the matter of instruction by older saints to younger saints as commanded in the Letters to Titus and elsewhere. Prayer before younger saints gives them a practice example, demonstrates the teaching they receive, and models it for them. The value of this practical instruction is immense. I pray my point is getting across because we need men and women who are serious about prayer and well-rooted in it.
This brings me to my final point, and the most important one corporate prayer is foundational to the mission of the church. What was the first act of the Church? Praying together as they await the coming of the Holy Spirit as noted in Acts 1-2. They knew they needed God and they sought Him together.
That unified seeking is powerful to the cohesion of the church in every aspect and arena of its life. Churches should be built on prayer, and with prayer so that every member of the local body is joined to the head, and the body as a whole is joined together under the head who is Christ Jesus our Lord.
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