Reading and Prayer

Introduction

1. When someone is scheduled to read, lead prayer, etc. it helps tremendously if he sits up front in one of the chairs. This shows that he recognizes the privilege of taking part in the worship. Otherwise there is a long pause while the congregation wonders if someone forgot their assignment or if the ushers did not remind him. In any case, it’s a distraction.

Public Reading

Moses, Joshua, Josiah, Ezra/Nehemiah, Paul to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:13).

Know what you are reading (when possible).

There was an actor at a drawing room function who was asked to recite, and he stood up and he wanted to be gracious to his audience so he said, I’ll recite anything you’d like me to recite. And no one suggested anything, so an old preacher happened to be there. He was sitting in the back. I don’t know how he got there, he probably crashed the party, normally preachers don’t get invited to drawing room functions on a high society level, but he was there. And he stood up and he said, I’d like to hear you recite the 23rd Psalm. Well, the actor was a little shocked at that, but he’d thrown himself open, so he had to do what the man asked him to do. He happened to know it, so he said, alright, I’ll do that. So he repeated the 23rd Psalm with complete eloquence. Masterfully interpreted it. Diction was beautiful. And when he was done, there was spontaneous applause throughout the entire room.

And the actor, figuring he’d get back at the old gentlemen said, now sir, I’d like to hear you recite it. The old gentlemen hadn’t bargained for that. But because of this love for Christ, he stood up and he repeated the 23rd Psalm. His voice cracked, it broke, it wasn’t very beautiful. Interpretation wasn’t really that good. When he got done there was no applause. But there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. And the actor sensing his own emotion stood up and said, ladies and gentlemen, I reached your eyes and ears and he reached your heart. And he said the difference is this; I know the Psalm, he knows the Shepherd.

Pay attention to punctuation.

Slow down.

Read with authority.

Listen to good readers and note what makes them good.

Public Prayers

What is the difference in private and public prayers?

What kind of prayer is Jesus addressing in Matt. 6?

What advantage is there to composing prayers?

What disadvantage?

Give thought to timing.

Give thought to focus.