When the Pastor Prays Publicly

Do you ever wonder why it is important for pastors to pray publicly?

The pastor should be one of the greatest prayer warriors in the church and in his city.

I believe that prayer by the pastor should be one of the highest moments in public worship services. This moment of public intercession can be absolutely powerful.

As the spiritual leader of the church, when you pray, you are standing the gap for the people of God.

8 Considerations When You Pray Publicly

1. Context 

The pastor needs to set up the context for this prayer moment. He can do this before or after asking the congregation to bow their heads, preparing to pray. Plan this moment with diligence.

2. Timing 

The timing for you to pray in worship is very important. I prefer to set this time just before we receive the offering. For us, this usually occurs just before the final song before the message.

One other thing pastor, do not shorten this time. Your people need to hear you pray and they also need you to do so in a way that is genuine, not just checking the list of things we do in worship services. Not only is the timing important, but the amount of time allocated for the prayer is important.

3. Agreement 

When you pray, teach your people how to agree in prayer with you. As pastor, they need to be engaged with you while you are praying. They can agree with you verbally while you pray. As we turn the church house into a house of prayer for the nations, people need to become involved as you pray.

4. Planned 

The ministry of prayer in worship needs to be a planned time. It should have purpose. The pastor can even list the topics of prayer to the people before the prayer begins. Understand what is happening in the culture and then you will know how to be relevant in your public prayer life.

5. Conviction 

The pastor should pray with a strong conviction. A conviction is not just something you have in your heart, it something that has you. This will illustrate to the people that you pray because you believe in it, and it really matters. Pray with conviction.

6. Passionate

Pastor, when you pray, pray passionately. The people will then also become passionate in their prayers when they see modeled before them a pastor who prays with passion.

Never should we be afraid to have our emotions involved while we are praying, from enthusiasm to expectation, to weeping, and perhaps even shouting. Regardless, be authentic, but make sure you are passionate.

7. National and Global 

Pastors should pray for national and global needs publicly. Pastors and churches need to pray for our national leaders, and about situations existing in the nation and across the globe. If we really believe in prayer, we need to act like it relating to national and global needs.

8. Posture

Oftentimes when I pray before our people, I kneel. I do so in reverence to God. He is Lord, not me. He is the Sovereign One, not me.

Then there are times when I pray publicly, I walk around on stage. At other times, I stand still when I pray in public worship settings. Whatever the public posture, the posture of your heart should always be humility before God.

The Church Needs to Hear You Pray

Pastor, I just want to be one of the people out here that appeals to you always pray before your people in public worship. You are the God-called and God-anointed pastor of the church, so do not try to delegate prayer away from your leadership.

Now is the Time to Lead,

Ronnie W. Floyd