Corporate prayer is integrated into nearly every large scale church activity. Worship pastors often lead the congregation in prayer before singing; teaching pastors pray aloud before giving a sermon. Many of us have grown up with this as the norm, so rarely do we actually pause to question whether or not it is biblical to pray corporately or even to think about what is happening during group prayer.
“Is it a collective prayer or is it just a bunch of people listening in on one person’s conversation with God?”
In Matthew 6:5-14, Jesus warns the disciples against praying like the hypocrites “who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others” (Matthew 6 ESV). In saying this, Christ isn’t knocking corporate prayer as a whole, rather he is calling his followers to examine the condition of their heart before engaging in public prayer. The corporal aspect is not what is wrong with the prayers of the hypocrites. It is inauthenticity, for the reason behind their prayers is self-glorification. The reason we pray at all is to commune with God; praying just to make ourselves look good is a wicked misuse of an incredible ability God has given us.
Our role in corporate prayer should look one of two ways depending on whether we are the leader or the audience member. If we find ourselves to be in the position of the leader, we should be examining our hearts to make sure we are coming from an authentic, God-seeking place. If we pray in such a way as this, corporate prayer is a good thing. It allows the body of Christ to unify and come together at the feet of God to speak with him. If it becomes anything outside of an authentic conversation, Christ makes it clear that it is how it was intended. As listeners, we should take on a more active role than merely bowing our heads, closing our eyes, and saying amen at the end of the prayer. This is not what it looks like to commune with God. The reason we do any of these things is to ready our hearts and minds to focus on God. Amen translates to “so be it”, which should be an affirmation of the things we just heard spoken aloud to the Lord. Saying “amen” requires, then, congruence of thought with the leader of the prayer. If you weren’t listening to a thing he/she said, how can you affirm it? Just because you aren’t the one first saying the words, doesn’t mean you can’t sift through and then echo the prayer in your heart. Group prayer is whatever we choose to make it, so be encouraged to take it as an opportunity to engage with God.