The Corporate Worship Gathering is Not a Spectator Sport: Teaching and Acting on Prayer

Ryan Egan —  March 14, 2011 — Leave a comment

Sometimes it takes a little bit of disruption in our routine that shakes us up, wakes us up, and calls us to act on what we believe and yesterday was no exception.

We spent the whole morning service praying at Living Word yesterday.  The songs were mixed in with times of prayer guided by our pastor.  We had no sermon, just a short explanation of the day and why we were doing what we were doing.

I had a little voice in my head telling me, “But you’ve never done that before and it’s going to make people uncomfortable!”  I’m glad I decided to say “Yes, it’s good that we’ve never done it before and yes it’s good that we’ll make people uncomfortable” instead of listening and giving in to the fear of what people would think.

It was worth it.  We spent about forty-five minutes in focused prayer including:

  • Praise
  • Confession
  • Intercession
  • Prayer for those who are unbelievers
  • Thankfulness
  • Our songs matched each section and at the end we responded with two songs of praise and sending.

I loved that we didn’t just teach on prayer but we actually acted on it and practiced it. Sometimes our corporate worship gatherings tend to look more like seminars and concerts than times of corporate worship.  We gather to listen to a teacher, maybe watch a video, hear a testimony, and sing some songs.  We listen to the pastor pray and watch the worship team, special music, or choir “perform.”  What we need to do is consistently come up with ways to keep the congregation engaged in active worship and send that attitude with them into their homes and families.

Our time of corporate worship through prayer was a beautiful, fruitful time, and we’ve already heard a lot of positive feedback.  I’m already looking forward to when we’ll do it again.

What have you done recently that has knocked folks a little out of their comfort zone and called them to put their faith into action? What has knocked you out of your comfort zone?

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Ryan Egan

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Ryan is a follower of Christ, husband, father, worship leader, & creative. He is heavily involved in the Association of Free Lutheran Churches and desires to teach others to live a life of worship in everything they do.