Is it wrong to read a prayer in worship services?
Question:
Is it wrong to read a prayer in worship services?
Answer:
"Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching" (I Timothy 4:13).
Many of the passages of the Bible are prayers, such as Jesus' prayer (John 17), Hannah's prayer (I Samuel 2), Solomon's prayer (I Kings 8:22ff), and many of the Psalms are both songs and prayers. Therefore, it is not wrong to read a prayer during worship.
Question:
Thank you for this. One gentleman at our congregation writes his prayers down and one person believes he is wrong to read them. I see no problem with it and wanted to be able to have a reasonable conversation with her about it.
Answer:
Prayers are to be from the heart and sincere. Whether they are verbal or written, this remains the same. When we teach young men to lead prayers, a common question is how do I remember all the people that need prayers? Not everyone is used to speaking in front of a group of people. You can easily lose your train of thought when you are nervous. What we tell them to do is jot down the things that you want to pray about so that if you get stuck, you have something to look at and remind you. If a person wants to write out his prayers in full, that is fine.
