Book Review: Praying in Public, by Pat Quinn

Pat Quinn, Praying in Public: A Guidebook for Prayer in Corporate Worship. Crossway, 2021. 176 pages.

In a lecture on public prayer, Charles Spurgeon said, “I do not believe that ‘anybody will do for the praying.’ No, sirs, it is my solemn conviction that the prayer is one of the most weighty, useful, and honorable parts of the service and ought to be even more considered than the sermon.”^{11 .} Charles H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, The Christian Heritage Series (Christian Focus Publications, 2008), 75.

These unexpected words from the Prince of Preachers underscore the significance of public prayer, encouraging us to approach this part of our public ministry with greater seriousness—a conviction echoed throughout Pat Quinn’s Praying in Public.

Skin and Bones of the Book

Quinn’s aim is to raise the bar for public prayer. He guides the reader on how to pray publicly and fills the book with examples of prayers. He does this in two parts across eleven brief, well-written chapters.

Part 1 is entitled “Seven Principles to Guide Prayer.” He summarizes six of them:

• Adoration, confession, and supplication are the essential components of congregational prayer.
• Biblically scripted and creatively developed prayers are both valid types of prayer.
• Trinitarian prayers honor the person and work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Thoughtful and reverent prayers guard against distracting repetition and dishonoring overfamiliarity.
• The gospel of the glory of Christ should motivate and inform our prayers.
• A solid theological foundation built on love of Scripture, familiarity with historic liturgies, and use of the creeds should undergird our prayers (67–68).

The seventh chapter includes the final principle: “Effective public prayer must be well-prepared prayer” (68).

In Part 2, he provides roughly twenty sample prayers per chapter, each focusing on a different kind of prayer and applying the principles from Part 1. These chapters will equip you to pray effectively in public and cause you to worship the great God to whom we have the privilege of speaking.

The reader will want to give careful attention to chapter one since the rest of the book builds on a proper understanding of adoration, confession, and supplication. Chapter seven is especially handy. Quinn pulls together the previous six principles into a how-to chapter that includes useful writing exercises.

I enjoyed this book and plan to use it with men in our church. My only disappointment was that prayers of thanksgiving were not treated separately. The author nestles prayers of thanksgiving under prayers of adoration and provides his reasons (see the footnote on pg. 30). He also includes a few sample prayers of thanksgiving in chapter 8. However, I think the book would have been strengthened if it included reflection and instruction on prayers of thanksgiving specifically.

How Might a Pastor Use This Book?

1. To Remind You of the Seriousness and Privilege of Public Prayer

The demands on our time may tempt us to “cheat” a little when it comes to public prayer. We may be tempted to walk up and wing it. Quinn reminds us that public prayer and the God to whom we pray publicly demand intentionality and preparation. He accomplishes this by elevating the privilege of prayer and the greatness of God.

2. To Equip the People Who Pray Publicly in Your Church

You could read this book with elders, worship leaders, or interns and have them pray through written prayers during an elders, staff, or intern meeting. This would allow them to put Quinn’s guidelines into practice before they pray publicly. If you’ll give them feedback after a worship gathering during a service review, why not give feedback on the front end?

3. To Help Foster a Culture of Prayer You’d Like to Hear in Your Church

If you want the church to adore God in prayer, confess their sins, and bring their needs before him humbly and boldly, then you must model it whenever the church gathers for prayer. Raising the bar for those who pray publicly by using this book will eventually shape the way the congregation prays.

4. Help Reshape Your Lord’s Day Gathering Order of Service to Include More Prayer and Different Types of Prayer

Many evangelical churches pray too little during their worship gatherings. Adding different kinds of prayer will increase the amount of prayer. If people struggle with praying differently, reading some of the sample prayers from the book aloud may show how spiritually edifying it is. People may “catch” the conviction by experiencing something unfamiliar in a way they would not grasp in the abstract.

This book is biblically grounded, historically informed, pastorally sensitive, and doxological. It will encourage you to enjoy prayer, prepare well, and equip others to do the same.