Rising up against the disorder of the world

Christians believe in prayer. We believe God hears our prayers and responds to them. We believe in praying individually and also with other Christians. And we believe that we’re called to pray for our world, as Paul instructed in 1 Timothy 2:1–2: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Why, then, do so many of our congregations spend so little time praying together in corporate worship?

That’s the way it seemed to me after visiting a number of Mennonite Brethren congregations in Winnipeg over the past 10 months. I was struck by how little time people spent praying together.

All the services I attended had some form of opening prayer and a prayer for the offering. Only 20 percent offered a brief prayer before the sermon; two-thirds included a pastoral or congregational prayer; and less than half ended the worship with a closing prayer. In total, the time spent praying averaged less than four minutes.

Lack of intercession

But the brief time spent praying wasn’t the only thing that struck me. I was also surprised by the lack of prayer offered on behalf of others and our world. Intercessory prayer has been a central feature of Christian worship throughout Scripture and the history of the church, yet it played a minor role in many of the services I attended.

In fact, only two-thirds of services included some form of intercessory prayer, usually as part of the longer pastoral prayer. And, in most of these prayers, intercession was just one of many elements, including statements of praise and thanksgiving to God, words of confession and/or commitment, and requests for God’s presence. Approximately half of these prayers also included prayer for the offering. All the prayers were led by the worship leader or a pastor. There was no visible or audible involvement by the congregation.

Navel-gazing?

The intercession topics were quite similar from congregation to congregation. Topping the list were prayers for the local church and its ministries (programs, activities, leaders, committees, etc.), as well as prayer for individual members (especially regarding health concerns). General prayer for missions and missionaries, “those in need,” and “those searching” were mentioned in a few services. Only one congregation seemed to take Paul’s instruction seriously by praying for leaders in society, such as police, teachers, and government.

All of this occurred at a time when there was no shortage of things to pray about in the world – wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the shootings at Virginia Tech, genocide in Sudan, spring elections in Manitoba, concern about global warming, AIDS in Africa, world hunger, natural disasters, poverty, violence, injustice. Yet only one congregation offered prayer for an issue that appeared on the front page of the newspaper (the tragic death of two Winnipeg firefighters).

Biblical model

The Bible provides us with a rich and broad vision of intercessory prayer.

The Old Testament is full of examples of people offering prayer for others. Abraham pleads with God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; Moses asks God to spare the people after they worship the golden calf; Ezra, Judith, Esther, and Daniel all offer prayer to God on behalf of the people of Israel. And Samuel, when asked by the people to pray to God for them, responded, “far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12:23).

Throughout the Old Testament there are continual reminders to remember the orphans, widows, and strangers. It caused one rabbi to say, “Whoever has it in his power to pray on behalf of his neighbour, and fails to do so, is called a sinner.”

The earliest Christians not only inherited this traditional Jewish emphasis on intercessory prayer, but they benefited from the clear teaching and example of Jesus himself. “Pray for those who persecute you,” Jesus said (Matthew 5:44), and then proceeded to do exactly that as he was being crucified: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus’ role as intercessor was clearly understood by the early Christians (see John 17; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25), and they believed that Jesus had passed this ministry along to them (Acts 6:4).

The New Testament is full of references to corporate prayers of intercession and petition (see Acts 4:24–31; 12:5; 2 Corinthians 9:14; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2–4; Hebrews 13:18–19). The earliest pattern for corporate intercession is found Paul’s first letter to Timothy, where he says that prayers should be offered for everyone, not just members of the faith community.

Descriptions of intercessory prayer in early Christian worship show that the believers took this teaching to heart. Justin Martyr, a church leader in second-century Rome, wrote: “We offer prayers in common for ourselves . . . and for all [people] everywhere.”

Descriptions of worship from fourth century Antioch give the impression that a great deal of time was spent in prayer for others: the church, her ministers, kings and those in authority, the peace of the world, those who are suffering, widows, women bearing children, those travelling, those involved in business. Through their prayers, early Christians felt themselves continuing the ministry of Jesus.

A witness to the world

The early Anabaptists also believed in the practice of frequent and fervent prayer. Worship gatherings, often held outdoors to escape detection, were filled with extended and emotional times of prayer. Intercessory prayer was seen as an integral part of their witness to the world, and was considered the privilege and responsibility of all who had been baptized.

One of the earliest collections of Mennonite prayers, written by Leonhard Klock and published in 1625, includes prayer for “all who hate and persecute Thee and us and do harm unto us. Forgive them for they know not what they do. For that reason do not hold them guilty on our behalf.” The prayer also intercedes for all who lack the strength to follow God’s word, for those suffering for their beliefs, and for all kings and authorities.

Are we in danger of losing this rich biblical and historical vision of intercessory prayer as an act of ministry to the world around us? Karl Barth has been quoted as saying, “To fold one’s hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”

Reformed theologian John Witvliet, in Worship Seeking Understanding, suggests that we engage in prayer each time we read the newspaper or watch the evening news. He proposes that we “nurture an intercessory spirituality” that seeks to turn every dimension of our lives in the world into a topic for prayer. Of course, we can pray for the needs of the world as individuals. But there is something powerful about people praying together – it’s a witness to each other, to our children, and to the world about what we care for and who we care about. But it’s more than that; it’s a way of inviting God into our world, and into our lives, in a public and purposeful way.

In a world where God is often pushed to the margins and excluded from public discussions, and in a culture where many believe they have no need for God, praying together publicly is a way of acknowledging, affirming, and witnessing to our world’s need for God’s presence.

Christine Longhurst was pastor of worship at River East MB Church, Winnipeg, for 10 years. In June she received her doctorate from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. She presently teaches courses in worship at Canadian Mennonite University and offers workshops on the subjects of worship, music, and corporate prayer.