Public Prayers And Private Prayers

Why?

(1) Because much of the preaching that preachers preach about today is about PRIVATE PRAYERS only.

(2) They SELDOM EVER preach on PUBLIC PRAYERS making the distinction between PUBLIC and PRIVATE.

Both of these kinds of prayers are taught throughout the scriptures and should be preached.

I. First, let’s talk about PUBLIC PRAYERS.

Now some folks do not actually believe in PUBLIC PRAYERS.

They feel that the Bible teaches everything we do as Christians should be done PRIVATELY, such as praying and giving.

They feel this way because they believe the Bible teaches these things should be done PRIVATELY.

Generally, these people who believe this are good godly sincere Christians, but they are ABSOLUTELY ignorant what the Bible teaches about PRIVATE PRAYERS.

For example, Dr. Odell Belger had this man that attended his church and when the offering was taken up PUBLICLY, he would not put anything in the offering plate.

• He would wait after the church service when everyone was leaving, he walked by the offering plates and when he saw no one was looking he dropped his tithes and offering in the offering plate.

• If the offering plates were not available, he would give it privately to Dr. Belger to put his tithes and offerings in for him.

He felt the same way about PUBLIC PRAYERS.

When God’s Word is teaching about these things in PUBLIC God is talking about MOTIVES,

• That is, if we do these things to be seen of mankind, we certainly should not be PRAYING AND GIVING publicly for the wrong reason.

• But when they are done for the right MOTIVE, we should practice PRIVATE PRAYERS and PUBLIC GIVING.

For example, each Sunday before the offering is received someone is called on to lead the congregation into a PUBLIC PRAYER.

Now since we were not called upon to lead in this public prayer what are we supposed to be doing during this time!

We should be listening to the words of that prayer and agreeing with the words that are being publicly spoken.

For example, the one leading in the prayer might be saying in their prayer…

• Lord, we worship you--- WE AGREE!

• Lord, we love you---WE AGREE!

• Lord uses this offering to reach the lost with the gospel---WE AGREE!

God’s Word has many passages that teach PUBLIC PRAYERS where someone is leading the congregation in prayer.

For example, let me give you two examples…

(1) The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

We read “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’”

Notice the Lord gave the example by using these words but notice the word “Our” which is plural which means more than one.

The Lord’s Prayer is a public prayer that covers worship, petition, and confession.

The prayer asks for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth.

• It then moves to personal petitions for daily needs, forgiveness, and protection from evil.

• The Lord’s Prayer is concise but profound, covering the essentials of Christian prayer: praise, petition, and reliance on God.

• It serves as a guide for both private and public prayers, emphasizing the importance of reverence, trust, and submission to God’s will.

The Lord Himself is giving us an example of PUBLIC PRAYER.

Let me give you another example…

(2) Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication (1 Kings 8:22-53)

“Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: ‘Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below…’”

• Solomon asked God to bless the newly constructed temple, which was meant to be a permanent dwelling for God among His people.

• Solomon speaks to God, but his prayer serves as a public declaration for the entire nation.

• He prays for God’s forgiveness, guidance, and protection.

• His prayer emphasizes God’s covenant with Israel and the importance of keeping His commandments.

Throughout the scriptures we see great men and women of God PRAYING PUBLICLY.

So, when someone is leading in PUBLIC PRAYER we should be listening to the words of that prayer, and we are in agreement IN THE THINGS THEY ARE PRAYING.

Illus: It is like this when the preacher is preaching you can hear some folks saying Aman! Why? They are showing they are in agreement to what is being preached.

However, sometime PUBLIC PRAYING IS often ABUSED…

For example…

(1) Some use it for a time of BRAGGING

For example, when some are called upon to pray, they feel that a platform has been given to them to public proclaim how great they are for as much time as they desire…