Dennis Gillett - Class 6: Public Prayers

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Good morning everyone. Of the addresses that have been given this week on the pathway of prayer, this one today is the most difficult. And, chiefly because it is the most sensitive. Now how you pray in private, nobody else knows but yourself. And any words of mine about private prayer will be applied or not applied according to how you feel and how you are convicted.

2. 0:39

   But with public prayer it is different. Others know how you pray in public and any words of mine which might comment on public prayer could appear to be commenting on your way of doing it. You see, immediately I am in danger. I am in danger of offending somebody. And of course that is the very last thing I want to do.

3. 1:07

   I mean, it would grieve me greatly if anything I said today about public prayer seemed to you that I am getting at somebody. That would grieve me very much. But when you think about it, it couldn't be so, could it? Because these notes were prepared in England before I came here. So, I didn't know how you were going to pray in public.

4. 1:28

   And my comments therefore are addressed to nobody but to everybody. So, try to understand that. If you feel that what I say about public prayer you disagree with me, alright. Have no fear. Have no fear. And don't be offended if you find that what I say isn't what you think to be true.

5. 1:51

   Now, if we are to look at public prayer we have to look at it critically. And after all we are all in the same boat, so to speak. And we have the same faith and we want the same end result, don't we? All of us. Now, you'll notice in the title there was this little phrase included, and personal preference.

6. 2:13

   And that was put there to stress the point that you cannot provide a straitjacket into which public prayer has to be fitted. How we pray represents our own personality. And that I believe to be first class. And it should be given full opportunity to be manifested. We may find there is a straitjacket. And if there is, it's likely to be not personality, but tradition.

7. 2:43

   But we shall see how things emerge for the President as we go along. First of all, there is a kind of public praying, which I would like to consider at this stage. And that is when people gather together in one place, especially for prayer. We have done this at the Ecclesi at Oxford from time to time, when we felt a particular need to pray about a special subject or for a special purpose.

8. 3:12

   Now, the words of the Gospel that relate to this kind of public praying are to be found in Matthew 18, verses 19 to 20. And I'd like you to have a look, if you wouldn't mind.

9. 3:27

   Matthew 18, verses 19 and 20. Alright? Matthew 18, verses 19 and 20. Again, I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree upon earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done to them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

10. 3:59

    I know they're well-known words. Notice that although one method, the private method, when we were talking about private prayer, it demanded isolation. This method calls for the opposite. It calls for fellowship. Notice very carefully the conditions. The king did not say, where two or three assemble and pray on the basis of their own desire.

11. 4:24

    Not that at all. Every word is important. Where two or three are gathered together in my name. And the word gathered is the significant word. It's not the same as meeting together. It's not the same as assembling. Gathered implies that there is a central force which attracts things from the circumference to the centre.

12. 4:48

    The king is the gatherer. Those who come together have been drawn by him because they have been illuminated by his word. They have been impulsed by his love. And in the deep recesses of their life they are seeking to do his will. And the king says, where these conditions exist, there he is in the midst.

13. 5:09

    In the very centre. Not hovering at the circumference. In the very centre. He is the centripetal force which holds them together. They are gathered.

14. 5:20

    And if in the spiritual sense he is at the centre of that little company. It means in fact that he is enthroned. He is obeyed. He is consulted. And therefore the prayer should be in harmony with his teaching. And therefore in accordance with God's will. And so the promise that he made becomes possible and it becomes credible.

15. 5:44

    Of course the answer, as we've already thought, is it's assured. But whether it comes in the way we would have expected or at the time we decide. We've already thought about that under the heading of unanswered prayer. Now according to the king then, in this passage, there are limitations upon prayer. But the limitation is not on the things about which we may pray.

16. 6:07

    But upon our own condition. And the purpose and spirit in which we make our petitions. Of course the truth is that some people find this kind of public prayer quite helpful. Even inspiring. And others find it just the opposite. That's my experience. Some like it. Some dislike it. You know, if you call it a prayer meeting.

17. 6:32

    You've pretty well sabotaged it to start with. You call it a prayer meeting. But I say in our ecclesia we do gather together. If somebody is grievously ill. Or some serious decision has to be made. Or some important problem has to be faced. The ecclesia comes together. We hope. We hope. Drawn together by its Lord.

18. 6:58

    To pray together. And seek God's help and blessing. But as I say. Some people like it. Some do not. So it just shows that personal preference is a real factor. And it cannot be discounted. The experience has taught me that this kind of public prayer has to be organised very carefully indeed. And else it will fail.

19. 7:25

    Well, that's all I want to say about that particular side of public prayer. Let's come now to public prayer in practice. There is a real difference, of course, between private prayer and public prayer. And chiefly the difference is this. Private prayer is communication between an individual disciple and his heavenly father or her heavenly father.

20. 7:45

    Whereas public prayer is communication between an individual disciple and his brethren and sisters. And then with God. In other words. In a real and genuine sense. The prayer is that of a company of people together expressed by their representative. It is a public prayer because they are all praying together through the voice of their chosen spokesman.

21. 8:10

    He speaks for all to the Father in heaven through the Advocate Jesus Christ. And it follows, therefore, that what he speaks for all must or should have the effect of expressing the minds and the feelings and the hearts of all those on whose behalf he prays. And therefore, the prayer, as far as possible, should be inspirational.

22. 8:34

    It is intended to move others who stand with him with bowed heads and hushed spirits. So that they can all, in truth, feel genuinely attached to the words which have been offered. Now, in private prayer, the words may be faltering and ordinary and commonplace and even badly expressed. And as we, I think, said already, it doesn't matter.

23. 9:01

    God does not require eloquence in private prayer. It doesn't matter. Groaning doesn't matter. But, in public prayer, it is different. As well as expressing the heart to God, it has the purpose, the objective of inspiring the congregation who are assembled in Christ's name. Therefore, it does require care in the expression of the ideas which are presented in the prayer.

24. 9:28

    Moving phrases properly expressed are better than ill-defined phrases expressed in a modelled way. Directness and simplicity are better than ambiguity and verbosity. If the one appointed has sufficient notice to do so, there is nothing wrong, of course, in composing his prayer carefully in his own mind. Because it has been thought out carefully before, does not make it one whit less sincere.

25. 9:56

    If necessary, for presiding, brethren, it can be written out. I would much prefer a prayer properly prepared and written out than a prayer ill-prepared, badly expressed and out of sympathy with the occasion. If possible, it's better to avoid stereotyped phrases and outmoded sentences if you can. They have a way of robbing the prayer of its impact and its inspiration.

26. 10:25

    Nor should it be a kind of lecture to those who are in the congregation. Sometimes public prayers are addressed to the congregation as a kind of exhortation or to add a few minutes to the lecture or to give warning or advice to the unbelievers present. Or even to give a lecture to God himself.

27. 10:45

    Some prayers are like a lecture to God, telling him what he's told us in a way which seems to suggest he might have forgotten his own word. Quoting scripture in prayer, of course, can be very moving indeed. But even that can be overdone. So that it becomes a kind of a recital of passages and tends to be a demonstration of the prayer's marvellous memory.

28. 11:11

    It's my opinion that very often Christadelphian prayers, and this is a generalisation, usually I'm sick to death with generalisations, but this is a generalisation of course, but my impression is that very often Christadelphian public prayers are too long. There seems to be an idea that unless a prayer is fairly long, it's no good.

29. 11:33

    In fairness, I must say that this is not a fault of my ecclesia in Oxford. Our brethren there do not fall into this error, but I've noticed that sometimes when we have visiting brethren come to us, they often are much longer in their prayers than their own brethren. They are just saying, passing by the president, I haven't noticed it here.

30. 11:52

    I didn't notice the prayers were too long here, so now we assure you. I mean, a good prayer can be spoiled when it goes on too long, when it repeats itself several times, and when the sentences are disowned as like padding to run it out longer. How often have you heard the same thing in a prayer repeated several times, as though God needed to be pestered, or the audience might forget what's been said?

31. 12:23

    I mean, in an address, repetition is valuable. Very useful. But in a prayer, it's not. I mean, a prayer is not an address. Or at least it shouldn't be. Long prayers tend to weary people in the congregation who are elderly, and find standing difficult and distracting. And it spoils the prayer for them, because the weariness intrudes into their consciousness, and they lose their concentration.

32. 12:51

    I don't know whether you ever heard this story. It was this story, brother president. You'll appreciate this when you hear it. It occurred in Lancashire, in the northwest of England. And it was like this. It's the story of a man in a meeting, brother in a meeting, who made a very long prayer.

33. 13:13

    And he quoted many passages, passage after passage. He went through the Bible, quoting passages. And eventually he arrived at Hebrews chapter 11, and quoted, And what more shall we say? And a weary voice in the congregation said, Say not more, but amen.

34. 13:43

    Now look, it may not be true, but if it was true, I can understand why. Very well then, I'm now going to give you an example of a prayer. I've written it out, and so I'm going to read it. I won't comment on it until afterwards, but I want you to listen to it carefully, in the light of what I've said already.

35. 14:07

    You must be patient while I read it. O great and eternal Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. We thank thee that thou hast allowed us to come together once more, to show to our friends and neighbours, the great things which thou hast promised in thy word, and which thou hast magnified above thy name, and which thou hast vouchsafed to us, thy servants.

36. 14:31

    We thank thee that thou hast called us out of darkness into marvellous light. We rejoice that we are not as the world is, in darkness and sin. And we thank thee that thou hast called us to understanding thy will, and to separate us from the things which are worldly and ungodly. Grant that those who have turned in tonight to hear thy word, and who have not yet responded to the gospel, may not much longer delay their decision, for we know that the time is short, and there may not be much longer an opportunity to hear and answer the call.

37. 15:06

    For we know that the judgments will soon fall upon those who have neglected thy truth, and spurned thy offer of salvation. Call them, we beseech thee, to baptism and obedience, while there is yet time. We thank thee that thou hast revealed to us thy purpose with this earth, and man upon it, and for the assurance that we need not suffer the fate of Adamic stock.

38. 15:30

    We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for until she is at peace there will be no peace in our hearts. We are mindful of those who are on beds of sickness, whether it be of mind or of body, and we ask thee to let thy healing hand rest upon them. Thou, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in whom is no change nor shadow cast by turning, and whom not having seen we love, whom to know is life eternal, grant us a humble place in thy kingdom, and pardon us for the things which we ought to have done, and have left undone, and for those things which we have done, which we ought never to have done.

39. 16:06

    Hear us in heaven, thy dwelling place, and let thy blessing be upon us as we further wait upon thee. We ask it in the name of Jesus and for his sake. Amen.

40. 16:20

    It's not a bad prayer, because it does express the feelings, and the faith, I think, of all of us. Well, I think it could be improved. Do you have a sense that it could be improved? I mean, it does tend to be wordy, doesn't it? And some of the phrases are well worn and very traditional.

41. 16:41

    There were many petitions and many references. Some of the sentences were quite evidently designed to be expressed to the visitors present, rather than to God. It was a kind of mini-exhortation for the hesitating strangers. It was certainly rather long, especially for a public meeting on a Sunday night. I hope nobody would be offended if I say that there are some things about it which could be left out, or if they're not left out, they could be changed.

42. 17:09

    I mean, there really is no need for people who are ill always to be on beds of sickness. Nor always to refer to the world as the earth and man upon it. You know what I mean. There's no need for me to amplify this. You know these stereotype phrases. A prayer which is wordy and archaic, phrases, many petitions, many references, quite long.

43. 17:35

    Is it suitable for the occasion? That's all I'm asking. Now, let's look at a prayer which was eminently suitable for the occasion. I bring you to Acts chapter 4.

44. 17:47

    Now, Brother President, Brother President, would you do me a favour of reading again from verse 24 to 30, the prayer. Would you do that for me, please?

45. 18:04

    Yes. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God, which one of the Lord said, Lord, thou art God, which hath made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that him there is. And by the mouth of thy servant said, why did the heathen rage and the people in that heathen take?

46. 18:27

    The kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For of the truth, against our holy child, Jesus, who was now as the glory of us, so Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, will gather together for to do whatsoever thy hand that thy counsel determined was for to be done.

47. 18:52

    And now, Lord, behold their brethren and grant them to thy spirit that with all holdings they may speak thy words by stretching forth thine hands to heal and thy spines and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy God. Thank you. Well, now, what a splendid prayer it is, isn't it?

48. 19:17

    I mean, it begins with this reverent recognition of God as Lord and of heaven and earth and the creator of all things. It starts with this wonderful sense of reverence to God. And then it quotes from scripture, but to the point. It's not a recital of many passages. It gets to the point that they're praying about.

49. 19:47

    It's quoting Psalm 2, as you know. And just in passing, it's a very interesting thing there, that we believe rightly that Psalm 2 is yet to come to pass. The day is coming when the heathens shall rage and the people imagine a vain thing and they shall oppose Christ the Messiah. We know that.

50. 20:11

    But they took that Psalm and found an interpretation and an application to their own day. It reveals the principle of duality that sometimes in the scripture something is twice truth, twice truth, sometimes thrice truth. It's a very interesting thing. Acts, Psalm 2, there interpreted as taking place in their own day. And then the purpose of their quotation was to bring them to the request, the petition they're making that in the light of these things which had happened, would God beholding the threatenings grant unto his servants that with all boldness they may speak the word and he asked that he would give them power to heal and therefore support their work that they were about to do.

51. 21:08

    It's to the point, it's inspiring, it's reverent and altogether a good example I think of a public prayer. And utterly suitable for the occasion. Now talking about being suitable for the occasion I am provoked now to say a few words about prayers at the breaking of bread service. That is giving thanks for the emblems.

52. 21:39

    There is a proper way to do this in my opinion and it is sometimes disregarded. First of all these prayers for the emblems should never be long. Then they should be always related to the particular emblem rightly. First of all the prayer for the bread should give thanks to the body of Christ and the loving sacrifice which was made by the Son when he offered his body on the cross.

53. 22:10

    The prayer for the wine should give thanks to the shed blood shed for the remission of sins and should always include a plea for pardon for our sins. Now the plea for pardon is the duty of the brother who gives thanks for the wine because the wine is related to the remission of sin.

54. 22:30

    It is the blood. The plea for pardon then is always to be spoken in the prayer for giving thanks for the wine. Not by the brother who gives thanks for the bread. Now sometimes this procedure is ignored and the bread prayer has a strong plea for forgiveness and the poor brother who has to give thanks for the blood has been robbed of the main purpose of his prayer.

55. 22:53

    So I believe it's important that we should observe that procedure so that each prayer is related properly to the emblem to which it's attached. Now on Sundays in our services of course the main prayer is the prayer at the memorial service usually after the readings. Now this of course has to be a comprehensive prayer offering worship, thanksgiving, praise, seeking blessing and help and guidance.

56. 23:20

    It should remember the sick, the bereaved, those in special need. It should pray for the coming of the kingdom, the return of the absent Lord, the blessing of the ecclesia, a prayer for the exhorting brother. It should pray for those in authority, for the chosen people. It should thank God for his word and for the word made flesh and for the great atoning plan of redemption.

57. 23:38

    Now you may say that's a long thing but it needn't be long. You don't have to make each plea a great long plea. You can state it simply and directly with reverence and with nice words if you can think of them. Need not be very long but it must be comprehensive because it is the main prayer of the congregation on that day.

58. 23:59

    As a congregation let us always seek brethren and sisters to be quiet and reverent where we can. Try not to do anything to disturb the atmosphere of the peace and concentration of brethren and sisters when they are at prayer. let the presiding brother speak his prayer with sufficient volume. That's an important thing sufficient volume to enable the congregation to hear his words.

59. 24:20

    I've been at meetings where the voices are so quiet that you would never really hear what was being spoken to God on our behalf. Innovations may be alright in private prayer but I think great care is needed about innovations in public prayer because you may by your novelty make it difficult for those who are listening and wanting to associate themselves with the prayer something irritates them or interferes with their serene contemplation of their heavenly father and their plea to him out of the honesty of their heart.

60. 24:53

    Innovation can sometimes disturb and irritate and spoil what could be a prayer of fellowship and peace. I want to return now to the point made earlier that the chosen one delegated to speak the prayer for all endeavours to express the thoughts and the aspirations and the hopes of those for whom he speaks.

61. 25:14

    Now we agree with this. There is therefore or there should be a genuine affinity between the one who prays verbally and those who pray with him that is albeit silently.

62. 25:26

    But there comes a time when those who pray silently through the words of the one who prays audibly there comes a time when they associate themselves with his words. And the point where his prayer becomes theirs in the truest sense is when they give the amen to what he has spoken. The amen spoken by the one who prays and the brother is praying is not saying to the congregation well now the prayer is over and you may carry on with the rest of the service.

63. 25:59

    He's not saying that. It's not a sign that his prayer is finished and let's push on with it. It is the opportunity for those who have invited their man to pray for them. It's their opportunity to give their assent to what he has said. By the amen they join themselves to the prayer which has been offered on their behalf.

64. 26:23

    So the amen is really saying so be it. I join myself to what has been prayed for. May I urge you that just as the prayer has been spoken audibly so the congregation's amen should be spoken audibly too. When it is the one who has prayed audibly will know that his fellows his comrades in the faith have joined with him in his supplications and his worship.

65. 26:56

    I must tell you that it's a great sadness to me that in meetings in England that I go to from time to time the amen is so weak and so poor and so impoverished you can hardly hear anything. And I do urge my comrades at Oxford consistently to campaign. I wage a little campaign continuously.

66. 27:21

    Let's have a good strong amen. amen. Because it's important. And I must say I was gratified in this assembly to notice that it was. Wasn't it? It was a good strong amen and I must say I was very pleased to hear you say it. One more point is this. Public prayer can sometimes be without life.

67. 27:50

    It can be cold and decorous and formal in a way that robs it of its appeal and its inspiration. So all of us, all of us who have the business of praying in public, let's try as proud as we can. Let's pray with feeling. Pray with warmth. Pray with faith. Make it clear that you really believe what you are saying.

68. 28:17

    Nothing is worse than to sound in your praying as if you are bored. Now I know you are not, I know that, I know you are not bored but to sound in your praying as if you are robs your prayer of a great deal. If it gives the impression that you are bored, your fellow's inspiration is diminishing.

69. 28:42

    Now if your voice sometimes trembles, and mine sometimes does when I pray in prophet, if it trembles, don't worry, don't worry about that, God loves prayers which are fervent.

70. 28:58

    I come now to something which might be profitable to ponder in another direction and it's this, quite a different subject, sometimes in public prayer brethren pray directly to Jesus. Now I don't know whether they do in South Africa, it's a waste of time in what I'm going to say, isn't it? But you would like to hear it?

71. 29:24

    No, that's good. Well, in England they do, in some places, brethren in their public prayers, not often, but I've heard it, they pray directly to Jesus. As I say, it may not happen often, but when it does, it can be a problem. The first point is that if it is going to disturb the assent and the tranquillity of others, then it doesn't help the unity of the prayer at all.

72. 29:52

    But allowing that, to what extent is it theologically right? And ought anyone to engage in it publicly? Well now, those who justify it do so on the grounds that there are in the New Testament prayers offered to Christ, Jesus Christ specifically. The examples are, I'll quote them to you, 2 Corinthians 12, 8 and 9, Paul says, About his thorn in the flesh, I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me, and he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for me.

73. 30:27

    Then there is in 1 Timothy 1, 12, Paul says, I thank Jesus Christ our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry. Then there's the case of Acts chapter 1 verse 24 25, the case of the apostles choosing a new apostle to replace Judas, they prayed and said, Thou Lord which knoweth the hearts of all men, show whether these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship.

74. 30:59

    then other references are in Acts. First the case of the martyrdom of Stephen, Acts 7, 59, Stephen called upon God saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. Paul on the Damascus road in Acts 9 when struck from his horse heard the voice of Jesus and he said, Who art thou Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

75. 31:24

    Peter on the rooftop in Acts chapter 10 waiting for his supper saw a vision and a voice said, Arise Peter, kill and eat. And Peter said, Not so Lord, I have never eaten anything which is common or unclean. Now there are two other references in the Acts but they are both of Paul recounting his experience on the Damascus road.

76. 31:45

    It's just a repetition which we noticed already. So that's the case. Now my view of it tells me that all these incidents are very special and very personal and in some cases those concerned having been spoken to by Jesus had of necessity to reply to him. In the case of Stephen of course the response was to a vision of Christ.

77. 32:17

    In the case of Peter again it was in response to a vision. In the case of the selection of a new apostle the need to ask for special guidance. It seems to me that the salient point is that all these cases were special cases peculiar to unusual circumstances. I am personally not convinced that these cases are telling us that this is the normal procedure for later times for all times.

78. 32:53

    Because in the New Testament prayers to Jesus as we understand prayer do not occur. As a regular normal thing they are quite definitely not to be found. Furthermore the teaching of Jesus was that men should pray to the Father in heaven through the Son through the name of Jesus. This was to be the normal method of praying.

79. 33:18

    Let me give you some examples. John 14 13 and 14 John 15 16 John 16 23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it to you. That seems to me to be pretty clear instruction about praying and it is after all the chances of Jesus himself.

80. 34:07

    People think if you don't pray to Jesus in some way you've dishonoured him but we honour him mostly we honour his name by doing what he says. That's the way to honour Christ by doing his will. And he did not say ask me and I will do it. He said ask my Father in my name and he will do it.

81. 34:28

    To say this is how we ought to pray is not to dishonour the Son in any way nor to seek to diminish in any way his glory. The great majority of brothers and sisters as far as I know hold this view of it and therefore to introduce into public prayer what must therefore be an innovation is something I think which is not likely to benefit those who wish to say the Amen.

82. 34:54

    What disciples do in private prayer about this is something of course which arises out of their own conviction and they must ! decide what they want to do but in this address we are concerned as you know with public prayer Very well now there's one last thing I want to say about it I want to stress I want to stress the part that public prayer public prayer plays in the quality of communal worship I think we must all have been conscious of this when prayer has in a wonderful way enhanced the quality of that worship and also sadly when it has impaired it it does show what a serious thing it is to offer public prayer and indeed what an inspiring opportunity it gives to gather brethren together gather their minds and hearts your comrades in the faith present them before the Lord of the universe and when we think of the meaning of worship the essential feature of true worship and the essential element in the word worship is that of reverence there is no doubt of that the idea is that of prostration of walking out backwards of obesity that is the meaning that is lurking in the word worship it is a reverent recognition of the utter superiority of their heavenly father it is an admission that the throne of god is the holy place of the universe and that in the presence of the throne men must bow and men must submit worship involves also a recognition that man is absolutely dependent upon god and that all things that men need are to be found in god it is a confession

83. 36:49

    that all the needs of life are to be discovered and satisfied in the lord god of heaven worship enforces on the mind of man that he is altogether incomplete and his life is utterly wasted in the real sense apart from his creator and his redeemer a sense of man's need a sense of god's complete sufficiency is at the very heart of true worship the attitude of worship is the attitude of the subject bent the subject bent in the presence of the king or the attitude of the sheep following the shepherd and being content and satisfied with the pasture which the shepherd appoints so I'm stressing that it is this spirit of reverent worship which should inspire public prayer reverence and godly fear is the foundation of it I think in every way in our worship we should strive for that spirit of reverence and their prayers could point it out powerfully when we pray in public the words of prayer that tell of the greatness and the power of the creator as we saw in those men of the acts there told of the greatness and the power of the creator than the sustainer of all life the syllables of praise that tell of the goodness and the grace and the all sufficiency of the father towards those who are his children sentences which confess this in proportion as their life is abandoned to him we shall find bring peace and joy and the real spirit of worship so that's the thing I did want to stress most strongly but then the last thing the last thing about public prayer to remark on is this

84. 38:53

    the discipline which it enforces upon us or the discipline it should enforce upon us now what I mean by that is this your brethren and sisters hear the words you speak and they will expect the words to be sincere that is what you speak will as far as possible correspond with how you are if it does not if your words do not correspond with how you are then there's a strong likelihood that the prayer will lose its impact as far as that particular assembly is concerned let me just illustrate what I mean if somebody says in his prayer what a wonderful privilege it is to be at the memorial service but the congregation knows he only comes when he's presiding then the words will seem very empty indeed or if I thank God in my public prayer for the wonderful blessing of his living word in the bible but they know very well I hardly ever look at it and when it's being expounded at the bible class I'm never there then my words are going to sound very empty indeed they will carry very little weight with your comrades do you see what I mean the discipline public prayer enforces us it's a powerful force a very powerful force to make us instant upon being like we say we want to be in the prayer we pray it just emphasizes that sincerity is a vital element in the ministry of praying in public of course we all fall short of it of course we all always say nobler things than we are able to do of course as I said before our aspirations are always

85. 41:00

    better than our achievements but allowing for that let's make sincerity a vital part of our public prayer let's recognize it and although we fall short of it let's take courage