Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Revelation 8:3-4 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

Corporate worship centres around the Word. God reveals Himself. He first speaks to us; and then we respond to Him. Our first response will be repentance. Our second response will be consecration. And, as we repent and commit to obey God, what are we doing? We are praying.

And then, from cleansed and submissive hearts, will flow the next thing which we will spend much time on – praise and thanksgiving. But even when we praise, we are, in a sense praying. Even when we sing, we are effectively praying to God with song. God speaks to us, and we respond to Him in prayer.

So, any response to God is, in a way, prayer.

When God’s people come together and pray, it is worship. It is people answering God. It is people humbling themselves before God. And the Scriptures above show that God regards the corporate prayers of the saints as being like incense rising up. That is always the picture of worship – a savour coming up to God. It is fragrant to Him.

Why does God value corporate prayer? Why is praying together this sweet-smelling sacrifice?

1. God gets more thanksgiving through corporate prayer than through private prayer.

   2 Corinthians 1:11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

   The more people praying – the more are expecting an answer. When that answer comes, there is more thanksgiving and rejoicing than if a person prayed for a private need, and only he or she knew that God had met it. God loves to be thanked. He loves His nature as a kind and merciful Helper and Saviour and Giver to be celebrated. Corporate prayer allows this.

2. Corporate prayer is an expression of unity which God treasures.

   John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

   John 17:20-21 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

   When we pray together, we are of necessity of one mind. We are coming together and agreeing on something. Five times we are commanded in the New Testament to be of one mind.

   Think about the word ‘Amen’ for a moment. Amen is a word taken straight from the Hebrew, which means, ‘Truly’ – ‘So be it.’ When we pray together – we are saying ‘Amen’ in our hearts, corporately. We are saying, ‘Yes Lord, let this be, this is true, we agree.’

   Unity on spiritual matters often means God has worked it into several hearts.

   Matthew 18:18-20 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

   The binding and loosing refers to the agreement of God’s people as to the state of an offender – their sins being bound to them or loosed, guilty or repentant. And the verb tenses suggest that when God’s people agree, their agreement is actually God’s prior decision being worked out in their hearts (whatever [things] you* bind on the earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever [things] you* loose on the earth will have been loosed in heaven – Mat 18:18).

   Think of when a whole bunch of violins sound the same, people will surmise they were tuned by the same person or used the same pitch pipe.

   When God’s people pray in unison, it is all the more likely that this is something that God has worked into a number of believer’s hearts.

3. It is a magnified cry.

   God hears the cry of the individual. The whole Bible bears testimony to that. But there is, nonetheless, something to the truth that when God’s people gather, they magnify the cry into a stronger, louder plea before heaven.

   Throughout the book of Acts, it is clear – they did more than gather to hear preaching, they gathered to pray (Acts 2).

   I could list story after story about what happened when God’s people magnified their cry for something – salvation, revival, changed hearts, even national changes. The work God does in a church when God’s people pray for it.

   A group of American clergy travelled to England in the nineteenth century, to hear the great Charles Spurgeon preaching, and to tour his church’s facilities. After showing them through the massive sanctuary and remarkable buildings, Spurgeon asked whether they would like to see the ‘Boiler room.’ The visitors politely declined, but the pastor insisted. He then led them to the church’s basement, where they found a hundred people on their faces in prayer. ‘This,’ Spurgeon said with a smile, ‘Is my boiler room.’ – source unknown

   The modern prayer meeting is in a sad state. A great number of people will attend a Sunday morning service – if those people like the church. A fair number of those people will attend the Sunday evening service – if they love the Word of God. But out of even those – how many will gather for the prayer meeting before the service? How many will gather on Wednesday night? How many will gather on a Saturday morning?

   Pastor Jim Cymbala said ‘From this day on, the prayer meeting will be the barometer of our church. What happens on Tuesday night will be the gauge by which we will judge success or failure because that will be the measure by which God blesses us. If we call upon the Lord, He has promised in His Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to Himself, to pour out His Spirit amongst us. If we don’t call upon the Lord, He has promised nothing – nothing at all. It’s as simple as that. This is the engine that will drive the church.’

   In the following years, the church became a witness for Christ in the darkest areas of New York; drug addicts, prostitutes, people of all religions came to Christ.

   Isaiah 56:7 For My house shall be called a house of ‘prayer’ for all nations. But how do people see it today? A house of preaching, a house of meeting, a house of singing, maybe, but how many see it as a house of prayer?

   It’s one thing to take in a message; it’s another to gather and pray. Prayer is work. Prayer is commitment. Prayer is bearing your soul with others.

   The church without prayer dries up and splits up.

   1 Timothy 2:1-8 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

   Here you have the clear command for corporate prayer in the church.

   First, notice the different kinds of prayer:

   • Supplications and prayers – simply requests.
   • Special needs.
   • The ministry in the local church.
   • The many different things we ask for ourselves – protection, provision, health, cleansing, and growth.
   • Intercessions – asking on behalf of others, salvation, spiritual growth, health.
   • Thanksgiving – for answers, for listening to us, for grace already received.

   Second, notice the scope of the prayer.

   • For all people, for authorities.

   Three Forms of Prayer:

   Public prayers led by men.

   Clearly the context suggests that the men must pray publicly because when one man stands up and prays publicly, he is in some way teaching the congregation, even by his prayer. He stands as a representative for the congregation, which is a position of authority or leadership. So, women are not to lead other men in prayer. When a group is gathered, and one is chosen to speak for the congregation, that person, because of God’s order, is to be a man.

   Group prayers (Acts 1:14; 4:24, 31; Acts 12:12).

   This is not one person praying on behalf of the congregation, but individuals taking turns to pray, or even praying simultaneously.

   Prayers made during the sermon.

   So much goes on during a service, we have no idea. First Corinthians 11 tells us that the angels observe our services. A battle goes on for souls as the Gospel is preached. A battle goes on to distract people’s minds while singing, praying and listening. A battle goes on to lead the preacher into fleshliness and self-display. A battle goes on, a battle only won by prayer.

   Prayer during a service is either silent prayer made for every aspect as you sit in on it, or, on some occasions, outside, and deliberately seeking God’s blessing over the service and the Word. Much has been done in churches where some, at certain times, denied themselves spiritual food to seek blessing on what was being served to others.

   How to pray corporately

   • Do not pray to be heard or admired. Prayer affords either an opportunity for great humility, or great pride. It can be used for humility if you are willing to speak to God in the ears of men. But the flesh is ready to pounce, to use this as an opportunity to speak into the ears of men while appearing to speak to God.

   Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

   • Do not make your prayers lengthier than they need to be. Better to have people wish you had prayed more, than to be wishing you would stop. People praying long, undirected and boring prayers discourage others from coming to prayer meetings. Who wants to hear someone say nothing repeatedly, while you have to close your eyes and concentrate on them saying nothing, or very little, repeatedly.

   Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

   • Beware vain repetitions, repeating the same words, ‘In God’s name’, a request which has been adequately prayed for by others. Saying the same thing again and again fills your prayer with a sense of making things up as you go along and weakens the whole atmosphere.
   • Don’t preach, pray. Some feel the need to teach everyone what they know of the Word in their prayers. Now, there is nothing wrong with praying God’s Word back to Him, as long as it is part of a promise you are claiming or a truth you are asking God to consider. But be careful of praying in such a way that you are not asking God anything, you are telling everyone around you what you know of the Word. It goes back to praying to be admired.
   • Pray in private much. In Matthew 6:6 Jesus is not forbidding public prayer. He is counselling that private prayer must be behind your public prayers. D.L. Moody said: “Men generally pray in inverse proportion to their private prayers. If they pray a great deal in private; they are apt to be rather short in public prayer. If they pray very little in private, they are in danger of being more lengthy.”

   Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

   • Prepare for prayer. Arrive with a view to pray specifically. Prepare your heart. If you have a Scripture or word of testimony to encourage the brethren, use it. Come with your prayer list or prayer book if you have one.
   • Do not bore people with long and involved prayer requests; learn to differentiate between a prayer request and a testimony. Do not trivialise a prayer meeting by asking for public prayers for foolish things. While no request is too small for God to hear when we pray privately, prayer meetings are dampened when the requests become so inconsequential as to make the meeting seem irrelevant.
   • If you are one of the men charged to lead a prayer meeting, then put as much preparation into it as you would into preparing for a sermon. What should we ask for? How should we ask?
   • Use utmost sincerity – mean every word you say.

   Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

   • Don’t just keep talking. If you need to pause, then pause to think about what needs to be said.
   • Don’t invent a new tone (volume, pitch).
   • Be wholly honest, but not casual. You can be utterly sincere when speaking to a king, without being irreverent, or too familiar. You can speak to God as a child speaks to a Father, without being careless and disrespectful.
   • Concentrate carefully and unite your heart with what another is saying; if what they are praying is according to the Word of God. Don’t say ‘Amen’ at the end if you weren’t inwardly saying ‘Amen’ during the prayer.

   A church seldom rises above its prayer meetings. How can it? How could a church be more spiritual than the desire of its members to pray together?