Pastor Albert N. Martin continues his sermon series on corporate prayer, focusing on practical guidelines for maximizing edification and reforming unbiblical prayer patterns. Drawing heavily from 1 Corinthians 14, he argues that structure is essential for edification in corporate prayer, not an enemy to it. Martin provides specific instructions for pastors on encouraging audibility, brevity, and rational initiative in prayer meetings, and then outlines a patient, biblically-grounded approach to reforming existing unbiblical prayer practices within a church, emphasizing the importance of renewed understanding, leadership consensus, and correct priorities.
Primary Texts
menu_book
1 Corinthians 14This chapter is the foundational text for Martin's argument that structure and order are vital for edification in corporate gatherings, directly informing his guidelines for prayer meetings.
menu_book
2 Timothy 2:24-26This passage provides the pastoral ethos for implementing reformation, stressing the servant of the Lord's need for gentleness, patience, and instructional approach.
“Let all things be done decently and in order. Now, if that is true, with the presence of those temporary, more extraordinary gifts, of prophecy in tongues, that structure was essential to edification, how much more in the more ordinary gifts of prayer, as well as admonition and instruction and teaching.”
“Nothing, however, tends so much to flatten a prayer meeting as long prayers. And nothing is more conducive to this prolixity than the idea so prevalent that each one who engages in prayer is expected to continue for at least ten minutes and to go through the whole round of commonplace topics.”
“Because you have found, as I have found, when you have on principle opened your mouth to pray, many times the felt sense of God's presence and enablement has come as you have prayed. It has not carried you into your prayers, but it has met you as you have prayed.”
“Reformation in corporate prayer must be based upon the renewed understanding of your people. Don't reform before you instruct.”
“Be ye renewed. Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds. And when you begin to sense that truth has taken hold in their understanding and in their consciences, then you begin to propose certain aspects of reformation.”
“Begin to tell them what they should do. And lo and behold, as their time is taken up so much with praying for things that the Bible says they ought to pray for, then someone will say, hey, you know, we didn't pray for all. No, we didn't. That's interesting, isn't it?”
“The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all men. Patient, patient, patient.”
Applications
All listeners
Encourage audibility on the part of those who lead in prayer.
If a brother prays too softly, take him aside privately and encourage him to lift up his voice.
Give general direction to the congregation to stand and turn towards the majority when praying publicly, and to lift up their voice.
Do not pray with your head down in your hands in public prayer.
Set an example in your own public prayers by being audible.
Encourage brevity on the part of those who lead in prayer.
As you lead in prayer, pray for the one or two concerns that are most upon your heart in light of the requests given, to encourage brevity and focus.
Encourage rational initiative in prayer, meaning men should pray out of duty and obedience to God's Word, not just when they 'feel led'.
If a man is in a backslidden state, he ought to get his hands holy by repenting and getting right with God before praying publicly.
If you come to a prayer meeting without clean hands and a pure heart, take the shortest route to get them clean.
Pray in private because it is your duty, not just when you feel like praying.
Understand that reformation in corporate prayer cannot be effected in isolation; it requires a general attitude of submission, cumulative pulpit ministry, and exemplary personal prayers.
Be patient and suffer in silence for a lengthy period if necessary, rather than immediately trying to tear down existing unbiblical prayer structures.
Don't reform before you instruct; base reformation in corporate prayer on the renewed understanding of your people.
If inheriting a prayer meeting with a preceding Bible study, use that Bible study to teach on the subject of prayer, preaching through major passages on prayer.
Initiate reformation in corporate prayer by the majority of the church leadership, instructing them and gaining their consensus.
Patiently follow a pattern of correct priorities when reforming corporate prayer, addressing less volatile issues first.
Do not start reformation by attacking sensitive issues like women praying if they are perceived as the most spiritual; prioritize less volatile issues first.
Address long, repetitious prayers first, as this is a less volatile issue that affects both men and women and is within their control.
Instead of telling people what not to pray for, begin to tell them what they should pray for, laying before them the great concerns that ought to fill their minds.
Be gentle, patient, and not striving, as a servant of the Lord, when working through reformation in a prayer meeting.
Pray for the grace of patience, especially if you are a young man.
Have compassion for Christ's sheep who are victims of bad teaching and examples, even if they are fearful of change.
Recognize the biblical doctrine of tradition and stability and the wholesome fear of change when seeking to effect reformation.
A full transcript is available on the
tab. 67 paragraphs, roughly 27 minutes.
Machine transcription
Practical Guidelines for Maximum Edification in Corporate Prayer
All right, brethren, let's pick up precisely where we left off in the previous hour. I'm setting before you some biblical principles and practical principles with respect to the ordering of the corporate seasons of prayer amongst God's people. And thus far we've considered a broad overview of the central place of corporate prayer in the New Testament church. And then I gave you what I called major principles which ought to condition and regulate the corporate prayer of your people.
And now in the third place, I'll set before you what I'm calling practical guidelines for maximum edification in corporate prayer. Practical guidelines for maximum edification in corporate prayer. Now, I don't think I have to establish with you men that edification is indeed, the goal of our seasons of corporate meeting as the people of God, and that structure is not an enemy to the end of edification. And all you need do is study 1 Corinthians 14 to establish that fact.
Now, see, in the minds of some people, maximum edification can only be found where you freewheel it. And the more structure there is, the less possibility there is for edification. Now, that flies right in the face of the...
The whole emphasis of 1 Corinthians 14. That was the problem of the dumb Corinthians. They thought the only way to have maximum edification is to have free-for-all in the public gatherings. So all the tongue speakers all burst out in tongues, and all the prophets would stand up, and the one with the loudest voice would be heard, and Paul said, Stop this foolishness.
You tongue speakers shut up, unless there's an interpreter. And you prophets sit down, and one at a time, and when we've had two or three, that's enough. There's a limit to what people can take. Beyond that, you may get blessed, given your prophecy, but no one is edified.
Let all things be done decently and in order. Now, if that is true, with the presence of those temporary, more extraordinary gifts, of prophecy in tongues, that structure was essential to edification, how much more in the more ordinary gifts of prayer, as well as admonition and instruction and teaching. And so edification must be our goal, and structure is not an enemy to that end. And if there's anything that I abominate, it's that whole notion that is abroad in so many circles, and even some so-called reform circles, that if our people are really to flourish,
we must break down structure and have ecclesiastical free-for-alls in our meetings. That flies, I say, in the face of the whole apostolic instruction in 1 Corinthians 14. Now, to be specific, then, if maximum edification is to be realized, you must encourage certain things in the direction you give to the prayer meeting. Number one, encourage audibility on the part of those who lead.
Encouraging Audibility in Prayer
Encourage audibility. If there's a brother who prays, and you notice that when he prays, it's difficult for you to hear him just a few rows away, don't embarrass him publicly, but take, him aside and say, now, brother, I know when you're praying publicly, your voice sounds so loud to you, but really, you're praying too softly for the rest of the people to hear, and you encourage him to crank up his volume. From time to time, you give the general direction. If you're praying and you're toward the front of the congregation, please stand and turn toward the majority of the people of God, and lift up your voice.
Don't pray with your head down in your hands. Periodically, you've got to remind people, they're not skilled in public utterance, and you must guide them if maximum edification is to be realized. Just as surely as Paul says that the man who prays in a tongue cannot edify because people do not know what he is saying, the man who does not pray with sufficient volume to be heard may as well be praying in tongues. So encourage audibility on the part of those who lead.
Encouraging Brevity and Focus in Prayer
And may I say, by way of an aside, set an example in your own public prayers. And then encourage brevity on the part of those who pray. Encourage brevity on the part of those who lead in prayer. The very few articles or even books or booklets that I've been able to come across, I won't give you a lengthy working bibliography on this subject, brethren, because there's just precious little, at least that I'm aware of.
There is a good little article in the issue. Number 211 of the Banner of Truth magazine on prayer meetings by John Angle James. And this author wrote about the middle of the last century and had some very helpful suggestions to make on corporate prayer meetings. But in the midst of his article, he says this.
Nothing, however, tends so much to flatten a prayer meeting as long prayers. And nothing is more conducive to this prolixity than the idea so prevalent that each one who engages in prayer is expected to continue for at least ten minutes and to go through the whole round of commonplace topics. On the contrary, how interesting and delightful would it be to hear a Christian breathe out his desires if it were only for five minutes upon one subject, somewhat in the form of the collects of the Church of England, in a manner which, in a way, would not be acceptable to any Christian. In a manner which, in a way, would not be acceptable to any Christian.
In a manner which, in a way, would not be acceptable to any Christian. And which indicated his heart was much set upon the matter of his petition and he carried the hearts of all present with him. And you'll notice that I use the little terminology very, very frequently. Now, brethren, as you lead us in prayer, pray for the one or two concerns that are most upon your heart in the light of the requests that have been given.
But that's not an accident or a filler. That's a calculated effort to encourage brevity that is born of This focus upon one or two issues, for generally speaking, the human heart in public prayer cannot be exercised with a vast spectrum of things as it can more naturally be exercised in private prayer. To follow the track of another man's thought and feeling for a lengthy period of time is difficult. It's difficult enough in preaching, it's more difficult in social prayer.
Encouraging Rational Initiative in Prayer
And so encourage brevity and focused concern in the prayers of those who lead. And then encourage rational initiative. And what do I mean by that terminology? Encourage rational initiative.
Well, I'm really just coming down on the same thing that Brooks came down on. When people don't pray privately because they don't, quote, feel led, unquote, often a prayer...
A prayer meeting will drag because on any given night there are not a lot of men who, quote, feel led. Well, what must they feel?
By what measuring instrument do they know when they are, quote, being led to pray? What kind of leadometer has God sent down from heaven? Where do they place it? How do they monitor their being led?
No, the will of God is made known in the word of God. I will that the men pray. Granted, if a man is sitting there in a backslidden state so he cannot lift up holy hands, then he ought to get them holy by the shortest route possible. And spend the first five minutes repenting.
Shut himself in with God in the midst of 200 people. And get right with God so he can pray.
We're not encouraging men to pray regardless of their spiritual state. No, who shall ascend into the hill of God? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. And if we come to a prayer meeting without...
Clean hands and a pure heart, let's take the shortest route to get clean hands and a pure heart. Again, there may be times when someone comes amongst us so utterly battered by his own problems as a Christian, utterly pressed down by the circumstances that it would be well nigh impossible for him to pray. The Bible recognizes such a state when all the child of God can do is groan. My groaning is not hid from thee.
And there are times all you can do is groan. And I doubt that public groaning...
In a corporate prayer meeting would be of much general edification. They might think you had a bellyache. And you ought to take some Pepto-Bismol or something else. Well, granted, there may be times when it would be inexpedient for a man to lead in prayer.
Or well nigh impossible. Those are the exceptions. And by and large, a healthy congregation made up of people in a general state of spiritual health, there ought to be more than enough. Men who ought to pray.
And you must encourage rational initiative. And that's what I mean by rational initiative. Because you have found, as I have found, when you have on principle opened your mouth to pray, many times the felt sense of God's presence and enablement has come as you have prayed. It has not carried you into your prayers, but it has met you as you have prayed.
That's true of your private prayers. It will be true of your public prayers. If you only pray in private when you feel like praying, I wouldn't want your prayer life.
Isn't that true? You pray because you know it's your duty. But I hope it's your experience that the majority of the times when you pray simply because it is your duty, your duty merges into delight. I hope that's your experience.
Not always. But at least I hope it's your general experience. That duty becomes delight. But if you wait for delight before you perform duty, you've got the cart before the horse.
Practical Guidelines for Reforming Unbiblical Prayer Patterns
Well, just project that into the corporate life of God's people. And that's what I'm talking about when I say encourage rational initiative. All right. Now, in the fourth place, I want to set before you some practical guidelines for the effective reformation of an existing unbiblical pattern of corporate prayer.
That's a rather lengthy heading, but I don't know how to reduce it and have it say what I want it to say. Practical guidelines. For the effective reformation of an existing unbiblical pattern of corporate prayer. You see, the preceding material has assumed that you will be in a situation in which you are conditioning the people from a state of the infancy of the church in which you were found as an overseer.
But some of you in the providence of God will take over existing situations. Where patterns and perspectives and habits of corporate prayer are embedded in your people. And alas, many of them are unbiblical.
Now, what do you need to understand if you are in that situation to be an instrument under the blessing of the Spirit of God through the Word to bring about a reformation of that unbiblical structure of corporate prayer into a biblical structure? Well, let's see. Let me lay before you some of the practical guidelines. Number one.
Reformation Cannot Be Effected in Isolation
You must understand that reformation in corporate prayer cannot be effected in isolation. Reformation in corporate prayer cannot be effected in isolation.
You will not be able to lead your people into reformation of their corporate prayer experience unless there is a general attitude of submission. Therefore, reformation in corporate prayer cannot be effected by a form of social or corporate prayer. Furthermore, reformation in prayer will be one of the aspects of the cumulative influence of your regular pulpit ministries.
And furthermore, reformation in great measure will be one of the fruits of the exemplary influence of your own prayers. So when I say don't attempt reformation of the corporate prayer in isolation, this is what I'm saying. talking about. You may have to simply bite your lip and suffer in silence for a rather lengthy period of time. If you simply come forth in the second week you're in a situation and stand up in
a prayer meeting in the middle of people whining about a second cousin twice removed who's got a boil on her left elbow and she's in great pain, if you simply stand up and say a plague on your house and try to tear down the whole structure, all you're going to do is create problems. So you may have to sit there and just bite your lip while they pray for dear old sister so-and-so's second cousin twice removed who's got a boil on her left elbow and long for the day when the prayer concerns will show a broader vision and a more biblical perspective. But that will be as a result of a growing out of
attitude of submission to the word of God in all things in general. And then the cumulative influence of your regular pulpit ministries reflecting the biblical priorities in your preaching and then the exemplary inference of your own prayers when people sense that your prayers are expansive and take in the broad concerns of Christ's kingdom, then they're going to begin to reflect upon their own prayers. And don't attempt reformation in corporate prayer in isolation. All right, the second principle or practical guideline. Reformation in
Reformation Must Be Based on Renewed Understanding
corporate prayer must be based upon the renewed understanding of your people. That was implicit in the first principle, but now I'm making it explicit. Reformation in corporate prayer must be based upon the renewed understanding of your people. Don't reform before you instruct. Take the
where they are and begin to instruct them. Most prayer meetings have a preceding Bible study. You will come into a structure, if it's one already in existence, in which people are accustomed to having really a mini preaching service with maybe five or ten minutes more prayer than is present in an ordinary worship service. Well, rather than say, I don't like that structure, we want a prayer meeting to be a prayer meeting, take the thing where it is in order to begin to take it where it ought to be. So what do you do with the Bible study on Wednesday nights? Well, you don't teach
the book of Ephesians or the book of Philippians. You start teaching them on the subject of prayer. So you start preaching through all the major passages on prayer in the Old and the New Testament. That's what a certain preacher did when he came to a group of people some 20 years ago and thought, well, things about prayer that were so deficient. And he started taking all the major passages on prayer
and preached through them. Well, it began to have an effect as they began to get a feel for the prayers of the Bible and the focus of those prayers and the spirit of those prayers, the content of the prayers and all of those things. Then the prayers of the people began to be molded by the word until, gradually, the suggestion began to be made, well, if we're going to pray that way, we've got to have more prayer. More time. Well, how can we do that and still have a regular exposition? Well, you mean what you're
saying is maybe we ought to just give the prayer meeting over to prayer? Yes, that's what we desire. Is that fine with me? So I got rid of one exposition per week. But you see, it came as a
result of the renewed understanding of the people. And they didn't feel threatened. They didn't feel like someone was trying to take something precious from them. It was the response of their own renewed understanding. Romans 12,
and verse 2. Be ye renewed. Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds. And when you begin to sense that truth has taken hold in their understanding and in their consciences, then you begin to propose certain aspects of reformation. All right? Third guideline. Reformation in
Reformation Initiated by Majority of Leadership
corporate prayer. Reformation in corporate prayer ought to be initiated by the majority of the church leadership. Reformation in corporate prayer ought to be initiated by the majority of the church leadership. Now, whatever the existing structure may be into which you go, some of you will go into one that has the view of the pastor as the mini-pope and the deacons as his court of yes-men. Well, long before you're able to instruct them on the biblical concept of church government
with a parity of duly-guilty, you're not going to be able to instruct them on the biblical concept of church government with a parity of duly-guilty, you're not going to be able to instruct them on the biblical concept of church government with a parity of duly-guilty, you're not going to be able to and recognized elders who lead and who govern and deacons who serve under the direction of the elders, you can begin to take the leaders where they are and seek to instruct them. And don't start bucking the entire system over the structure of a prayer meeting and have your leaders fighting at you on an issue like that. And I've seen good men, just because they were impeccable, patient, botch up a situation over something like this. So reformation and corporate prayer
ought to be initiated by the majority of the church leadership. As you seek to instruct your leaders, whatever their title may be, however irregular their present condition and function may be, part of the overall instruction is to begin to lay upon their consciences the awesome responsibility of the position of leadership they have, even though it may be a bit of a bit irregular, that position as it presently functions. Nothing is more likely to get them to recognize that than to begin to think biblically about the whole subject of prayer. Don't try to drag them by the heels, because if the people sense that the leaders are divided in this,
Reformation Follows Correct Priorities Patiently
then they'll begin to side with their leaders against you, and then you've got trouble. All right, and then the fourth guideline is reformation in corporate prayer. Reformation in corporate prayer. Reformation in corporate prayer ought patiently to follow, ought patiently to follow a pattern of correct priorities. Reformation in corporate prayer ought patiently to follow a pattern of
correct priorities. Some of you will inherit a whole mess of irregularities, and what you've got to do is prayerfully think through those irregularities in terms of which ones are the most critical and ought to have top priority in terms of ongoing reformation. You may go into a situation where women pray, where you have men and women who pray long, repetitious prayers, where you have inane and banal concerns as the focus of prayer, and where you always have the same five people who pray. Now there you've got a whole batch,
a whole bunch of irregularities. That's the status quo, the mess we're in. All right, now which one are you going to go after first? Well, it would be a terrible expression of kookishness to say, well, the first thing we're going to go after is women praying.
Now don't start there, because for years, the most spiritual people in that church have been the women who've prayed the most spiritual prayers. So don't go after that first. What do you need to do? You need to go after that first. You need to go after that first. You need to go
after first. Well, you need to go after these long, repetitious prayers first, because that'll take in the men and the women, so nobody thinks you're showing favoritism, see? And you begin to instruct the people that it's ridiculous for every one of the five people to pray for the same things, maybe using a little different set of words in a different order, but you're just raking over the same ground. So you go after that, begin to diffuse that matter, and that will probably be the least volatile of all of them, because you're touching something that's in their own control. So you go after that, and you begin to instruct the people that it's ridiculous for
every one of the five people to pray for the same things, maybe using a little different set of words in a different order, but you're touching something that's in their own control. So you may have no biblical thinking about male and female distinctions in a prayer meeting, but they do know that when they have to sit there and listen to all the people go over the same ground, that ain't kosher. There's something already in them that has a rejection factor. Seize on it.
Seize on it. Start there. And when they begin to feel healthy and wholesome responses to your reformation on that point of priority, now they're ready for your next. So instead of turning them off by attacking the irregularity of women taking the lead in prayer, you start in an area where you already have their consciousness and the commitment of their own hearts. That's what I mean about patiently following a pattern of correct priorities,
and then you ought to start going after the inane subjects of prayer and begin to lay before them the great concerns that ought to fill their mind. You don't tell them it's out of order to be praying. You don't tell them it's out of order to be praying. You don't tell them it's out of order for everybody, his uncle, and their pains and aches. Don't tell them you shouldn't do that.
Begin to tell them what they should do. And lo and behold, as their time is taken up so much with praying for things that the Bible says they ought to pray for, then someone will say, hey, you know, we didn't pray for all. No, we didn't. That's interesting, isn't it? You just smile and go
on your way. And then you go home and get on your knees and say, hallelujah, Lord. Thank you. It's beginning to take effect, you see. And then you just stand back and see those changes,
begin to occur as the fruit of your instruction. And brethren, if ever you need a passage stamped over your forehead when you have to work through this matter of reformation in a prayer meeting, you need 2 Timothy 2, 24 to 26. The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all men. Patient, patient, patient. You've heard the little ditty. Patience is a virtue. Find it
if you can. Seldom in a woman, never in a man. Well, I'd like to write, when patience is a virtue, find it if you can. And somehow get it to rhyme that it's seldom in any man, but less seldom in a young man. Youth is not normally known to abound
in the grace and virtue of patience. All right, that's a light to tease. If you don't know what a light to tease is, take your dictionary down and then interpret that statement in the light of the fact that I use the figure of speech. And pray for the grace of peace.
If you have reason to believe they're Christ's sheep, he died for them. With all of the present indications that they are the victims of bad teaching and bad examples, I hope your heart will break for Christ's sheep. And in many situations, there are real sheep. Now, you may go into one situation, there's just a bunch of billy goats who've got signs around their neck, we're sheep. Well, no amount of signs around the neck of a billy goat makes it a sheep.
But I know from my own experience in the itinerant, there are many situations I went into where I believe the majority of the people were truly Christ's sheep. But they were poorly taught, poor examples. And yet they were fearful. Everyone's fearful of change. Thank God for that fear of change. It's a wholesome thing. It's a healthy
thing. Without it, we'd all be like the kooks of the 60s. If anything's older than five years, kill it, stomp on it, beat it to death, blow it up with a bazooka. Well, you see what that produced.
God had mercy on any society that welcomes change for the sake of change. It's a wonderful built-in self-defense mechanism God has given us where we feel uncomfortable in the presence of something different and where we want to look over the implications of change before we change. The Bible tells us not to be company with those that are given to change. So there's a biblical precedent. I won't go into that. Well, there is a whole doctrine of tradition and stability and
fear of change. And it doesn't go down too well in our generation, but it's a biblical doctrine nonetheless. So recognizing that, brethren, then we want patiently, patiently, in the light of a proper set of priorities to seek to effect this reformation under the blessing of the Spirit of God. Well, that's the end of what I have prepared to say. And I know that some of you have to leave
at one o'clock or shortly thereafter, but I will stay on for a few minutes for questions that you may want to raise. Amplification you may desire or additions from those of you that could properly make some additions.
This transcript was generated by automated speech recognition and may contain errors.
It is provided for study and reference only; the audio recording is the authoritative source.
Passages Expounded
1 Corinthians 14
This chapter is the foundational text for Martin's argument that structure and order are vital for edification in corporate gatherings, directly informing his guidelines for prayer meetings.
2 Timothy 2:24-26
This passage provides the pastoral ethos for implementing reformation, stressing the servant of the Lord's need for gentleness, patience, and instructional approach.
Texts Expounded
auto_stories
Martin uses this chapter as the primary biblical basis for arguing that structure is essential for edification in corporate gatherings, especially prayer meetings, countering the idea of 'free-for-alls'.
auto_stories
Martin highlights this passage as crucial for pastors undertaking reformation, emphasizing the need for gentleness, patience, and instruction rather than striving.