Liturgy and the question of how to worship are receiving a great deal of attention today for better or for worse. That we should have and follow the proper guidelines for this is of the utmost importance. In this issue, Rev. Jerome M. Julien, pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church in Pella, Iowa, presents the fifth in a scries of eight articles on the topic: The Sacrifice of Praise.

The song writer says that “Prayer is the Christian‘s vital breath.” Our Heidelberg Catechism says, “Prayer is the chief part of thankfulness which God requires of us . . .” And for the believer, prayer is indeed wonderful fellowship with his God!

   

But we do not want to consider individual, personal prayer, as important as that is. Instead, since we are thinking about the contents of the worship service, we want to consider corporate prayer—the prayer of the people of God as they are met to worship the Lord. When we bow in prayer we are united as one before Jehovah. We pray as one, as the people of God, the Body of Christ, manifested in worship, one before His holy throne.

There are several ways in which we pray as a unit as we worship.

Of course, we do not pray as a unit in what Christian Reformed people call the “Silent Prayer,” an activity which precedes the opening of the worship service. This exercise is an individual exercise in which, even though it is done at the same time, the worshiper is preparing his heart for an audience with the Holy God in the corporate activity of worship.

Nor are we engaged in prayer in the giving of the Votum, Salutation, and Benediction. It is not necessary that eyes be closed and heads bowed for these, unless they come in the form of prayer. Actually, they are covenantal declarations. They are words which officially assure you of God’s grace.

We are praying as we sing, however. In singing we are engaged in adoration and praise, confession and petition.

Usually we engage in prayer as an act in itself after the sermon and in the congregational prayer. Sometimes, there are other prayers, also.

Incidentally, this Congregational Prayer is not, as many call it, the Long Prayer. To call it that could easily either consciously or unconsciously speak .of our impatience with worship. It is the Congregational Prayer when we, as a congregation, are before the Throne of God in the holy exercise of praying.

When we pray following the sermon it is to seek a blessing upon the preaching of the Word through the application of God‘s truth to our hearts.

It is good for us as the people of God to consider Congregational Prayer. Our tendency as God‘s people, because of the old man within us, is to treat the Congregational Prayer with some carelessness. Someone else is speaking; therefore, we don‘t have to pay attention. Boys and girls sometimes find that this time of prayer is for thinking about so many other things. But boys and girls are not alone in this. Fathers and mothers have the same problem! We must learn to work in prayer. We must learn to treat that moment of prayer—and it really is a moment in comparison with all the rest of the activities of worship and our life—not with carelessness, but with holy awe and deep concern.

Really, the Congregational Prayer should be a blessed time. After all, in this Congregational Prayer each and every child of God is participating one with another, before the Heavenly Father. Is that the way we come in prayer?

One of the Psalms of Ascent – the Psalms that. in a special way, have to do with the worship of God‘s people—expresses how it is that we come as God‘s people in prayer. We read: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress; So our eyes look unto Jehovah our God, Until he have mercy upon us” (Psalm 123:2). When we think about prayer from the point of view of Psalm 123, we find the following.

Prayer is the work of a servant – Psalm 123 is the song of a servant whose eyes are looking, not at his master, but at his master‘s hands. And in prayer, you and I are acting as servants, too.

Hidden in the words of our text is a golden nugget of spiritual truth.

The picture these words draw becomes more meaningful when we understand some of the customs of eastern culture. In the east, the master of many servants would never speak one word. He would communicate his orders by his hands. Through these signs his servants would know what they were to do. For instance, the servant would know when to serve a meal only as the master‘s hand would indicate it. Never would a word be spoken. The master had the eye of every servant upon him.

Some of this speaking with the hand is present today. There is, in a downtown department store, a very large restaurant where there is one woman at the door and another woman seating those who have come to cat. Between these women there is no communication by means of words. That would be utterly impossible. The distance is too great, and there is too much noise. But, by the sign of the hand, the lady at the door knows to send in a certain number of people because a table is ready. It‘s the same idea with the servant. He waited for the sign of the hand, and then he would act.

Someone, writing of the slaves in ancient Egypt wrote, “The slaves stand silent at the bottom of the room with their hands crossed over their breasts. With their eyes fixed upon their master they seek to anticipate everyone of his wishes.”

Essential in all this is the attentiveness and dedication of the servant. The servant must be loyal, expectant and submissive. As such, he becomes a picture of God‘s people in prayer.

When the congregation of God‘s people bows in prayer they come as a servant to the master. Always—whether it be personal prayer or corporate prayer the relationship of prayer is discussed in this way. Never are prayer‘s petitions expressed by one who is equal with the one to whom the petition is raised. Those who pray are not equal with God. Here, in Psalm 123, prayer is said to be the work of a servant. Jesus, as He taught how to pray, indicated that prayer was the expression of a relationship between Father and child.

Using the imagery here in Psalm 123, we realize that there are a lot of things that you can say about servants that will apply to prayer.

First, good servants are reverent. There is a certain awe for his master that characterizes a servant. A good servant realizes his position.

It is with this reverence that we are to come in prayer. There is no room in prayer for the congregation to be led in prayer in the language of the street, as popular as it might be among some people today. There are books of prayers available which contain this kind of so-called “prayer.” But we dare not approach God indecently. Who would dare to approach the President of the United States without careful and studied respect? Perhaps we have so much of this disrespect for God today because there is a disrespect for authority in general.

Second, good servants are expectant. A good servant expects his master to give direction. He has his eyes directed to that master. He waits for that slightest movement of the finger or a hand. He expects his master to give direction, and so he waits.

When we come in prayer, we come lavishing loving attention to our God and we are expectant. We don‘t pray half–heartedly, doubting. We pray because we believe God will hear. And He does hear!

A mother can hear her child crying, and she can discern that cry from all of the other cries in the neighborhood, or in the nursery. She knows that that is her child. Our God hears us, tool He hears us when we cry. He hears the cry of His lambs. We, therefore, may come expectantly, knowing that He will hear what we, as His people, bring before His throne in prayer. We believe that God will answer, even as He said.

Third, good servants are submissive. Many a servant has had a job that he hasn‘t liked. Many who work for employers have been given jobs that they haven‘t liked. But they have been jobs that have had to be done. They were jobs given by the master. The servant is submissive. He is ready to do as he is told.

With like spirit we come in prayer. We come submissively. We come saying, “Thy will be done.”

How often haven‘t we thought it right and proper to present to God our program, and say, “Now, this is the way it must be. Hear our prayer and answer it.” But that wasn‘t prayer! As a congregation, we may not pray that way. We may ask for all that God has taught us we may ask We may ask But the real test is when we can finally say, “Thy will be done.”

If we take these words in Psalm 123 seriously, we will begin to learn how we are to pray as a congregation. We will learn that we are to come confessing our nothingness. We dare not come before God as a proud people. We come humbly, bowing before God. The Pharisees came in pride, and, oh, how proud they were! What did they do? They would dictate to God. It was almost as if they were standing above God. That’s not the way we may come. That is not prayer. Prayer is being humble; prayer is the work of a servant.

Never forget that in prayer, too, we are standing before a holy God. Who is able to care for himself? Who is able to guide his own life? In prayer, as it is always, God is all.

As we come, we must confess our sin. Many do not like to confess in prayer. It is far easier to pass by what seems hard to take, that is, our sinfulness, and move on to other things. In prayer, however, we must be like Isaiah of old: “Woe is me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips.” And we add, “For Jesus’ sake, cleanse me.”

In prayer we come bringing all our needs. Who else will supply them? We lay them before Him. Our confession of faith we translate into the trust of prayer. No, the Congregational Prayer will not be a time when a detailed analysis of every sister and every brother in the congregation is given. Perhaps under special circumstances this is done. But never can it be a time to make announcements to the congregation.

When we pray, we pray for the general needs of the congregation. And these general needs must be brought! Somtimes, as the general needs of the congregation are brought in prayer, the prayer speaks to someone’s needs in particular. A pastor may hear, “You must have known my special need last Sunday because you prayed particularly for it.” But he really did not know that special need. No one had told him. He just remembered the needs in general. We all have similar needs. Therefore, in a general way, we petition the Lord for His blessing upon His people.

Prayer is a cry because of the Covenant – And so for one another, we cry to Jehovah, our Covenant God. And it‘s exactly because He is our Covenant God that we pray. Without that, all our crying would be nothing.

If we cannot say, “Our Father” as little children, we are not praying. Only the child of God will commune with God in prayer. God’s people pray because they know the Lord.

It‘s only through the fulfillment of the Covenant that we’re able to come in prayer, at all. God promised fellowship through His Son–a glorious fellowship. What Jesus has done is restore that fellowship. Because the Holy Spirit has come we can say, “Abba, Father.” We can lisp as little children, and that we ought to do! But as we do it we pray to our Heavenly Father.

As the people of God, we come into His presence in prayer, saying: “Thou art God and we are Thy people.” We come saying, “Our hope is stayed on Thee.” We come saying, “We believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that through Him we may ask for forgiveness and receive the assurance that all our sins are covered.” We come saying, “We need Thy Spirit, Father. Transform us by Thy Spirit. We need Thee. We’re weak. We’re sinful. We’re fickle. We need Thee.” As God‘s people worshiping, we wait before His throne in united testimony.

We pour our souls, and He hears.

We have so many reasons for thanks. Have you ever stopped to think what it is to really thank the Lord? For how many things can you thank Him? Start listing them, one by one. You’re not going to get done. We have many reasons for thanksgiving!

We also have many needs. We‘re helpless. Oh, I know we’re strong people. We work for a living. We get a paycheck. We are able to provide for food and other physical needs, but we’re really weak and helpless; we have so many needs! What would it be should the Lord take from us our strength so that we could no longer go to our daily labor? What would it be should the Lord take from us the freedom that we know? Oh, we have needs. And these we bring as a congregation in a general way.

The Congregational Prayer is not something automatic. This Congregational Prayer is hard work for all those who worship. The minister prays, that is, he leads you in prayer, but he is not a priest. He is not the one that goes before the altar in the place of the congregation. So that things are done in an orderly way one leads in united prayer because we are one Body in Christ. And the One who leads you is your pastor because he is the one who has been given spiritual-pastoral oversight over you. But remember: he leads you. You are to be active in this prayer. You must pray along in the Congregational Prayer. We are servants of God. That implies that we are active in prayer. We pray as a unit, bowed before the Throne of Grace.

Oh, yes, there are barriers that keep us from praying as a Covenant people.

For instance, there is the barrier of self-centeredness. This takes away the joy of prayer. Now, of course, this can be a barrier in our own personal prayer life, but this can be a barrier in the Congregational Prayer, too. We can become so interested in ourselves and our own needs as a congregation that we forget that we are part of the One Body in Christ.

Another barrier to prayer as we pray as a congregation is iniquity regarded in our hearts. This is very harmful to spiritual joy. When we regard iniquity in our hearts, we lose the joy of prayer and we lose the joy of life in the Lord. This has its effect on the congregation just as Achan’s sin had an effect upon Israel. Our hearts must be rid of that iniquity. We may not have it there. To that end discipline must be exercised as the Word is preached.

There is still another barrier—faithlessness. Faithlessness will make prayer time drab and meaningless, too. It‘s easy for us to be pessimistic. We look around us and we see so many things that make us wonder. We wonder what’s happening to our society. We wonder what is happening to the church. We wonder what’s happening to believers who once professed faith as we do. And we become rather pessimistic. It‘s easy to be pessimistic. But you see, that is faithlessness. Oh, it would be foolhardy to fail to see a bad situation. But we must remember as we come in prayer, having seen so much that disturbs us, that our God is the Sovereign God and no matter what the games be that the church plays, and no matter what the games be that society plays, God is still on the throne and all will be righted. In that light we pray. When we come that way, then we come in faith, believing.

As Covenant people we may and must bow in prayer with assurance. Remember that Jesus said: “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). Then we pray as the Church believing, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him” (Psalm 91:15). Our assurance is based on the promises of God. We do not pray with doubting hearts. Praise the Lord, He will hear our cry!

Praying this way, the hour of prayer will take on new meaning. It will not just be the “long prayer” that we endure. Reverently and expectantly we will say, “Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes, O thou that sittest in the heavens.” Then, with assurance, we will chorus in our hearts, “Amen!”