Growing up in Church, I remember questioning the need for public prayer. After all, didn’t Jesus tell us to go into our closets to pray? And what about His critique of the Pharisees who loved to stand and pray loudly for show?
It turns out, however, that Jesus is not against public prayers –He’s simply against arrogant prayers. Jesus is actually a proponent, and participant in public prayers.
In John 11, Jesus visits Mary and Martha who are grieving the death of their brother, Lazarus. Before Lazarus from the dead, Jesus stops to pray –and he begins with an interesting sentence: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Jesus recognized the power of public prayer. No doubt, Jesus also valued private prayer –He practiced it often. But here, He states a specific reason for praying in public. Namely, on account of the faith of those around Him.
I remember on the evening before my wife passed away, my good friend Doris prayed out loud in the hospital waiting room. What an encouragement to my faith and the faith of my friends as she literally plead with God on my wife’s behalf.
Maybe you have the opportunity to encourage someone’s faith today by simply saying, “may I pray for you right now?” Don’t miss that moment. Don’t just offer the obligatory, “I’ll be praying for you.” Pray for them right then, right there. Pray in public.