Worship is Prayer
When does prayer occur during Christian worship? In my view, the entire worship service is prayer offered to God. There are obviously one or more “prayers” (plural) that take place during a worship service – an invocation, perhaps, or a pastoral prayer – but the congregation’s praying is not confined to segments that begin with the name of God and end with “Amen.” Congregational singing is prayer. The choir director at the church I attended during my high school years had a sign on her wall: He who sings prays twice . Often misattributed to Augustine, the slogan captures the idea that both words and melody are offered to God. Words are rational; they have meaning. The act of singing words, however, incorporates non-rational elements as well. Singing comes from the heart and reaches back into the heart. Congregational singing is prayer, and so I find myself greatly perturbed when the pastor cuts the hymn short to provide more time for other activities – a longer sermon or some ...