Editor’s Note

Subscribe
Journal
12.31.2007

Didn't Jesus say something about the hypocrites who pray on street corners to be heard by men? So why is the 9Marks eJournal printing the corporate prayers of several individuals from Capitol Hill Baptist Church? Forgive me for presumption in presenting the prayers of one's own church as a model (none of them are mine); my hope is merely to share with pastors a sample of the richness I have personally benefited from since 1996. Set aside if you can any concerns you might have about formality, style, or culture. Pay attention instead to how big and holy and loving the God of these prayers is. Consider the strength and comfort a congregation would find as it listens to its leaders pray this way. Think about how they will learn to pray in turn. Think about the church's unity.

Pay attention especially to the two pastoral prayers, and consider what it means to teach your church how to pray like—forgive my boast in my pastor—a globally thinking and loving Christian.

I trust and rejoice that many pastors will find nothing surprising here because they already pray this way. But if you don't pray with such depth, let me encourage you to consider the samples presented here. Except for the book reviews, everything else in this issue should help you to see why. Christians used to take greater care in their prayers. We need to again. (See Johnson and Duncan's brief and convicting history of the matter in ch. 7, Give Praise to God, P&R.)

To get you started, here's what Philip Graham Ryken has said about his time as an intern at the renowned William Still's Gilcomston South Church in Aberdeen, Scotland: "Back in 1992 it was typical for a member of that church to thank God for the way he had brought down the Iron Curtain of communism in eastern Europe. From the way that they prayed, it was clear that they believed that their prayers had something to do with the collapse of the Soviet Empire. I was tempted to pull one of them aside and say, 'You know, it was a little more complicated than that. The global economy had something to do with it, not to mention the arms race and the spiritual bankruptcy of communism. It took more than your prayers to pull down the Berlin Wall.'

"I was tempted to say such a thing, but I knew better. Who is to say what part a praying church actually plays in world affairs? To go to Gilcomston on a Saturday night was to know what was going on in the world. The prayers of God's people really are at the heart of what God is doing. When the true history of the world is finally written, we will discover that Christians like the ones in Aberdeen had a profound influence on world events" (P. G. Ryken, Jeremiah & Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope, Crossway, pp. 390-91).

By:
Jonathan Leeman

Jonathan (@JonathanLeeman) edits the 9Marks series of books as well as the 9Marks Journal. He is also the author of several books on the church. Since his call to ministry, Jonathan has earned a master of divinity from Southern Seminary and a Ph.D. in Ecclesiology from the University of Wales. He lives with his wife and four daughters in Cheverly, Maryland, where he is an elder at Cheverly Baptist Church.

9Marks articles are made possible by readers like you. Donate Today.

Evangelism

February 2024
Purchase on Amazon

Catholicity

November 2023
Purchase on Amazon

Church Planting

November 2023
Purchase on Amazon

A New Christian Authoritarianism?

April 2023
Purchase on Amazon

The Church’s Ministries

December 2022
Purchase on Amazon

The Pastor and Church Administration

September 2022
Purchase on Amazon

Pursuing Revival While Avoiding Revivalism

June 2022
Purchase on Amazon

Expressive Individualism in the Church

March 2022
Purchase on Amazon

Sound Doctrine: The Foundation for Faithful Ministry

October 2021
Purchase a Print Edition

The Ordinary Means of Grace—Or, Don’t Do Weird Stuff

July 2021
Purchase on Amazon

How to Build Up Your Church: A Guidebook for Members

March 2021
Purchase on Amazon

Heaven: Rejoicing in Future Glory

December 2020
Purchase a Print Edition

Pastoring Through Political Turmoil

September 2020
Purchase on Amazon

Shepherding: The Work & Character of a Pastor

June 2020
Purchase a Print Edition

What’s Wrong With Gospel-Centered Preaching Today?

March 2020
Purchase a Print Edition
Complementarianism: A Moment of Reckoning

Complementarianism: A Moment of Reckoning

December 2019
Purchase on Amazon

The Heart of the Gospel: Penal Substitutionary Atonement

August 2019
Purchase a Print Edition
Church Membership: Following the Lord Together

Church Membership: Following the Lord Together

May 2019
Purchase a Print Edition

Ecclesiology for Calvinists

February 2019
Purchase a Print Edition
The Pastor and Pornography

The Pastor and Pornography

October 2018
Purchase a Print Edition

Pastoral Burnout: Its Causes & Cures

July 2018
Purchase a Print Edition

Church Life: Our True Political Witness

Spring 2018
Purchase on Amazon

Church Discipline: Medicine for the Body

January 2018
Purchase on Amazon

The Reformation and Your Church

Fall 2017
Purchase a Print Edition

Church Mergers and Plants

Summer 2017
Purchase a Print Edition

Pastoring Singles

Spring 2017
Purchase a Print Edition

Healthy Churches around the World

Fall / Winter 2016
Purchase a Print Edition

Authority: God’s Good and Dangerous Gift

Summer/Fall 2016
Purchase a Print Edition

The Church Praying

Spring 2016
Purchase a Print Edition

Confessions, Covenants, and Constitutions: How to Organize Your Church

Winter 2016
Purchase a Print Edition

Missions: Adding Wisdom to Zeal

December 2015
Purchase a Print Edition

Multi-Ethnic Churches

Summer/Fall 2015
Purchase a Print Edition

Expositional Preaching

Spring 2015
Purchase a Print Edition

Complementarianism & the Local Church

Winter 2015
Purchase a Print Edition

Vanishing Church?

Fall 2014
Purchase a Print Edition

Biblical Theology: Guardian and Guide of the Church

Summer 2014
Purchase a Print Edition

The Church Singing

May–June 2014
Purchase a Print Edition

Prosperity Gospel

January–February 2014
Purchase a Print Edition

Evangelism – Part 2

November–December 2013
Purchase a Print Edition

Evangelism – Part 1

September–October 2013
Purchase a Print Edition

Is Scripture Enough?

July–August 2013
Purchase a Print Edition

Church and Churches

May—June 2013
Purchase a Print Edition

Pastoring Christians for the Workplace

March—April 2013
Purchase a Print Edition

Lay Elders: A User’s Guide—Part 2

Jan—Feb 2013
Purchase a Print Edition

Lay Elders: A User’s Guide – Part 1

November—December 2012
Purchase a Print Edition

Discipling in the Church

September—October 2012
Purchase a Print Edition

Mercy Ministry in the Church

July—August 2012
Purchase a Print Edition

Wanted: Apostolic Pastors

May—June 2012
Purchase a Print Edition

The Underestimated Doctrine of Conversion

March—April 2012
Purchase a Print Edition

Don’t Be Too Cool for Sunday School

January—February 2012
Purchase a Print Edition

Revitalize: Why We Must Reclaim Dying Churches—and How

November—December 2011
Purchase a Print Edition

The Pastor and his Staff, Part 2

September—October 2011
Purchase a Print Edition

The Pastor and his Staff, Part 1

July—August 2011
Purchase a Print Edition

Church Membership: Holding the Body Together

May—June 2011
Purchase a Print Edition

Church and Parachurch: Friends or Foes?

March—April 2011
Purchase a Print Edition

Pastoral Moves

January—February 2011
Purchase a Print Edition

Book Reviews on the Mission of the Church

November—December 2010
Purchase a Print Edition

Hell: Remembering the Awful Reality

September—October 2010
Purchase a Print Edition

Pastoring Women

July—August 2010
Purchase a Print Edition
Journal about Deacons

Deacons

May - June 2010
Purchase a Print Edition

A New Evangelical Liberalism

January—February 2010

Church Discipline (Part 2)

November—December 2009

Church Discipline (Part 1)

September—October 2009

Missions

July—August 2009

Multi-site Churches

May—June 2009

Young Pastors

March–April 2009

Raising Up the Next Generation of Pastors

January–February 2009

Counseling in the Church

November–December 2008

Family & Parenting

September–October 2008

Marriage & Pastors’ Wives

July—August 2008
Purchase on Amazon

Living As a Church

May–June 2008

Cooperation

March–April 2008

Corporate Prayer

January–February 2008

Church & Culture

November–December 2007

Race and Ethnicity

September—October 2007

The Gospel

July–August 2007

Preaching

May–June 2007

Elders (Part 2)

March–April 2007

Hospitality & Friendship

January 2007

Elders (Part 1)

February 2007

Biblical Theology

November–December 2006

The Church’s Mission

October 2006

The Emerging Church

September 2006

Miscellaneous Articles

December 1999