What are the different kinds of prayer a church’s gathering should include?

In the Bible, we find prayers of praise to God, prayers of confession, prayers of thanksgiving, and prayers that lift up specific requests to God (Ps. 111; Ps. 51; 1 Cor. 11:24; Phil. 4:6). There’s no verse which says that a church gathering must contain four distinct times of prayer, each of which covers one of these four different postures. But we believe it’s prudent to do so for the sake of being deliberate about each, and for the sake of teaching the congregation how to do the same:

1. Prayer of praise. The Bible commands and invites us to praise God because of his greatness (Ps. 22:23, 29:2, 30:4). A prayer of praise praises God for who he is, as opposed to thanking him for what he does.
2. Prayer of thanks. A prayer of thanks should offer thanks to God for all of the blessings he gives us, chiefly the spiritual blessings he gives us in Christ. Such a prayer is an appropriate way to preface a time of corporate giving.
3. Prayer of confession. A prayer of confession should confess our sins to God in light of the Bible’s commandments. Such a prayer should explicitly ask for forgiveness. It should be framed in terms that are broad enough to allow the entire congregation to pray along, yet specific enough to expose particular sins.
4. Prayer of petition. A pastor should lead the congregation in praying for specific matters in the life of the church, the community, and around the world. Such a prayer may include intercession for members of the congregation who have particular burdens or opportunities, for important matters in the life of the church, for other local evangelical churches, for those in authority (1 Tim. 2:1-4), and for the spread of the gospel around the world.

The goal in all of these prayers is, first, to offer appropriate worship to God: God is worthy of our praise and thanks; we need to confess our sin to God; and God commands us to make our requests known to him. A second goal of these prayers is to teach the church how to pray. As they participate in these varied, corporate prayers every Sunday, the members of a local church will learn to pray deeply, broadly, and biblically.