We are very grateful for our men who are willing to help during the assemblies by leading the congregation in prayer. We know it can be a hard task and you are doing a good work so please keep it up! In order to improve our efforts in public prayers, please consider the following suggestions:
- Speak up! If you cannot be heard, you are not really doing your job. How can you “lead” others if they cannot hear you? You must project your voice in a louder and more forceful tone than you commonly do in normal conversation. A good way to measure how loudly you should speak is to imagine someone standing in the farthest corner of the building, then speak so they could easily hear you.
- Remember that this is a public prayer. This will dictate what sort of things you should pray about. Private matters should be dealt with in private.
- Don’t pray to be seen or heard by men (Matthew 6:5-8). You are not trying to impress men with eloquent speech. You are speaking to the eternal Father in Heaven.
- Give some thought to the length of your prayer. Public prayers do not need to be extremely long. The “model prayer” that Jesus prayed (Matthew 6:9-13) can be recited in less than twenty seconds. On the other hand, you do not to get in a big rush either. Nervousness can make you speak so rapidly that it is hard for others to understand.
- Don’t sermonize. Again, you are speaking to God, not men. You should not use your prayer as an opportunity to “make a point” with others who are in the assembly.
- Do everything (volume, speed, content, motive, etc.) in such a way that others will be able to add their “amen” at the end of the prayer.
Kyle Campbell