“How To Pray”

Gardner S. Hall, Sr. (1906-1978)

Editor’s Note: We may know good brethren who do not want to lead a public prayer. When questioned as to why they do not wish to lead a public prayer, they say things like, “I do not know how to pray in public.” Leading a public prayer is not about eloquence or performance. It’s about pouring our hearts out to God and leading others in that communication. Brother Gardner S. Hall, Sr. (1906-1978), was confronted with this problem and wrote down four suggestions to help men with public prayer. Please read these suggestions carefully, and I hope this encourages more of our brethren to lead prayers in a public manner. – JMJ

1. Pray often in private so that you will be familiar with God and used to speaking to Him. Then, when you lead prayer, think of Him (as you would any other time) and not of men (Psalm 88:1).

2. Do not make a sermon of the prayer. It is true that prayer is to be understood by all being led, and it will edify them. But it is silly to pray (to God) by preaching (to men) as though God needed the reproving and rebuking people need (James 1:17b)!

3. Do not try to be eloquent. Be sincere, fervent, humble, and respectful in talking to God as you would at any time; if you do that, it does not matter what men think about fancy words.

4. Give careful thought to what you say. Pray that we may prepare our lessons or may always worship God acceptably; instead of that, “we may have” done such; it is too late if we have not! When praying at the Lord’s table, do not pray the same prayer you would at the close of worship; think of the specific occasion of the prayer.

(Gardner S. Hall, Sr.)

Hopefully, these suggestions will help all those who pray to become better. We need to remember, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16)! Let us all work on leading prayer better and more effectively. What a wonderful blessing prayer is! When we pray, we are talking to God Almighty. Surely, the songwriters were right when they wrote, “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer”!

If we want to read about how to pray and what the subjects of prayer might be, we need to read the prayers of Jesus (John 17, etc.), the apostles (Romans 10:1, etc.), and the early Christians (Acts 4:24-30, etc.). God has given us these great examples to study. Why not study these prayers that were offered to God and work to better ourselves in leading a public prayer?

What Will History Say About Us?

By Jeff Curtis

In 1Samuel 25 we read about a man named Nabal. He serves as an example of what men ought not to be. He had many advantages, or so it seemed. His pedigree was good. He was a descendent of Caleb, the faithful servant of God from Joshua 14:6-15. He married a woman who was beautiful, both inside and out, 1Samuel 25:3 “…the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance;” (also vv.8-31). He was a wealthy man, 1Samuel 25:2, “Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats”; 1Samuel 25:36 “Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore, she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light.” However, he was greatly lacking in spiritual character. He was not a follower of God, essentially ignoring God’s very existence. He was selfish, arrogant, inconsiderate of others, and rude (1Samuel 25:3,9-11,17,25,36). His great focus in life was himself.

Nabal suffered hurtful consequences for his foolishness. “³⁶ Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore, she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. ³⁷ So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. ³⁸ Then it happened, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.” (1Samuel 25:36-38). His life was a monument to sin and foolishness. The references to Nabal’s name in the Old Testament guarantee his infamy. Nabal was harsh, thoughtless, disgraceful, and morally foolish. He also acted contemptuously toward others. Nabal stands with other disreputable Old Testament characters.

Meditate on these things:

Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵ “Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹ “Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.