Edifying others through public prayer

There is a false kind of piety I think, that says that when we pray, we are only concerned about what God hears and we are not concerned about what others hear. I just think that is a misunderstanding. We are concerned about what other people hear, that is why we are offering the prayer in public. Otherwise on Sunday mornings and Sunday nights we would just stand in the pulpit and sit and pray silently so that only God can hear. What is the point of praying publicly? The point is to be heard…We also need to be edifying the people when we pray publicly. For example, 1 Corinthians 14:1–40, do you remember what the apostle Paul says about praying in a tongue—whatever that may mean exactly. Well, he is critical of it. He says in 1 Corinthians 14:14, when we pray it should not be in a tongue because otherwise then our prayers would be unfruitful for those who are listening. They would not understand the prayer and so it would not bear any fruit and it would not do any good. He also says there in 1 Corinthians 14:14 that others are to be edified by our public prayers. So, we do not just pray with God in mind, we pray with people in mind as well. Now that does not mean necessarily you have to write out a prayer ahead of time to get all the correct language, but it does mean that I am alert to others—whether or not they are able to hear, follow, and understand, and whether or not my words are biblical, sound, encouraging, edifying, and consistent with the teaching of Scripture.¹

Terry L. Johnson