“The What of Worship, Part 6” (Ready to Worship S11E10)

March 27, 2020

Ready to Worship Season 11, Episode 10 for Friday, March 27, 2020

This season on Ready to Worship, we are investigating worship. To investigate worship, we are asking the questions of a reporter: who, what, when, where, why, and how. In this study, we will continue to investigate the WHAT of worship. In the past installments of this study, we examined the Lord’s Supper, the offering, and the singing. In this installment, we will consider prayer. One of the acts that the early church continued steadfastly in was prayer. Luke records, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). As you likely know, God’s people have always been a praying people. Just think of men like David, Daniel, Elijah, and Nehemiah. Think of women like Hannah, Anna, Elisabeth, and Mary. Obviously, in public worship, men are to lead the prayers (1 Tim. 2:8, 11-14). However, make no mistake about it, women are to pray in worship, just as they are to sing, give, study, and remember the Lord’s death. As you know, petitions to God come in many forms. This is true in private and in public prayers. There are supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks (1 Tim. 2:1). For the sake of clarity, let’s examine each of these types of petitions. Supplications are requests for God to supply something. For example, we might ask for God to supply a door of utterance (Col. 4:3), forgiveness (Mt. 6:12), or boldness (Acts 4:23-31). Prayers are general petitions. For example, in prayer we exalt God. We are not asking for anything. We are not interceding or giving thanks. We are simply acknowledging God’s greatness (Mt. 6:9, 13). Intercessions are requests made with someone else in mind. In rare cases, intercession is made against someone (Rom. 11:2; Psa. 58:6). However, more often, intercession is made for someone (Acts 8:24; Lk. 22:32; Jam. 5:16). Giving of thanks is pretty self-explanatory. It is thanking God for the things that He has given us, both physically (Mt. 15:36; Acts 27:35) and spiritually (1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 9:15). As we get Ready to worship this week, let’s keep in mind the actions that are required in true worship. This week, let’s focus primarily on prayer.