“Why do some Christian recite their prayers? Why don’t Anglicans pray ‘from the heart?’ “
There is an assumption that underlies these questions. They assume that prayers which are extemporaneous, or made up on the spot, are more sincere and “Spirit-filled” than prayers which are pre-written. Having grown up in the Assemblies of God, I understand why people might feel this way. Emotionalism is often equated with true spirituality. In any case, it is impossible to prove the superior sincerity of a prayer, nor can it be proven that prewritten prayers aren’t Spirit-filled. Few will find this reasoning sufficient, however, so the next step is to go to the Scriptures.
The Case for Reciting Prayers
Many people are surprised when I say that liturgical prayer is the standard expectation of prayer in Scripture. First, notice the Book of Psalms. This is a hymn/prayer book used for worship in Israel. In the ancient world, prayers were typically sung/chanted, so any distinction between a prayer book and a “hymnal” would be artificial. It is problematic to criticize liturgical prayer once you realize that the Bible has a built-in prayer book. Moreover, we see in the Scriptures that there were appointed Psalms for different holy days, sacrifices, and rituals. By “appointed,” I mean that Psalms were associated with certain days, events, and were even required in certain circumstances.1
Temple worship consisted of the following; 1) a big building, 2) beautiful stones and metals, 3) images of angels, palm trees, and pomegranates, 4) plenty of incense, 5) sacrifices, 6) “vestments,” and 7) chanted, pre-appointed prayers. Look up any modern day cathedral and you will see the same elements. Now, before someone objects that this is Old Testament “Law,” and that we are under New Testament “Grace,” let me go on to make my case. We will come back to the Temple soon.
Historically, we know that the synagogues used liturgical-style worship which was based on the Temple liturgy. They also used lectionaries, which are pre-appointed readings for the day which corresponded to the surrounding feasts and holy days. Whenever Jesus was in a synagogue, he would have been praying liturgically.2
In the Book of Acts, when Peter went to the roof at the ninth hour to pray, it corresponded to the Jewish rule of prayer. Morning and Evening prayer is observed by Anglicans and other liturgical traditions to this day.3
Jesus taught the disciples a prayer which Christians of all stripes continue to recite–we call it the “Our Father.” In the Jewish prayer tradition, even in the time of Jesus, Jews would pray “The Shema” at least twice a day to fulfill the rabbinic interpretation of the command found in Deut. 6:4-9 that it should be recited when rising in the morning and before reclining to sleep. Thus the Shema was prayed morning and evening and would usually be prayer a third time before sleeping.4 Early Christians prayed the “Our Father” three times a day, as inspired by The Shema.5 Liturgical churches retain this practice in their observance of morning & evening prayer, as well as compline.6
Finally, we come to the Revelation of John. Read the first couple of chapters, and what do you notice? You are reading a vision of a heavenly liturgy. They have 24 elders, which corresponds to the Old Testament elders of the priesthood. There is incense. There are pre-appointed prayers such as the “Holy, holy, holy,” repeated by the angels. You get the picture. So although there is a big difference in New Testament worship from Old Testament worship regarding sacrifice and ritual cleansing, everything else stayed pretty consistent. With regard to sacrifices, Christ is our sacrifice. Although Christ was sacrificed once for all, every Eucharist becomes a participation in that one sacrifice. With regard to ritual cleansings, Christ has made us clean. Baptism is the last and only ritual bath we’ll have to take.
Some Objections Answered
Objection 1: Doesn’t Jesus warn against “vain repetition?”
Answer 1: Jesus does warn against vain repetition, but it is an assumption to assume that repetition is inherently vain. If it were the case that all repetition is vain, indeed, there would be a conflict of interest. What Jesus is warning against, however, is the belief that prayers are effective for their repetition alone, and not the intention of the one praying. If one does pray repetitiously, but does so with sincerity and intentionality, then such a one is not guilty of vanity.
Objection 2: Shouldn’t worship be contextual and culturally relevant? Could it be that different styles of worship work better for different people and, perhaps, different times?
Answer 2: Worship should be contextualized and culturally relevant, but it would be the objector’s burden of proof to show that eschewing liturgy is a necessary part of contextualizing worship. Could it be that different styles of worship are better for some people or some eras? Possibly, but how would you go on to show that? If Scripture is liturgical from start to finish, and the Church has been universally liturgical until recent memory, to what precedent or authority could you appeal to make the case?
The point in all of this is to demonstrate that liturgy is not only biblically defensible, but that the shoe is on the other foot. It makes no sense to dispense with, let alone attack, the biblical model of worship. Choosing another form of worship is an individual Christian’s prerogative, but they cannot assume that their new approach is somehow more sincere or authentic. If one is concerned with the “soundness” of worship, one should not take the soundness of their own worship for granted.
B.A. Youth Ministry, Eastern University
Brandon lives just outside West Philadelphia with his wife, Elizabeth, and their sons, Kairos and Levi. He is an educator and administrative assistant at Christ Academy in Collingdale, PA
- Pray Then Like This: The Case for Reciting Prayers - July 2, 2022
- Kingdom as Mission - November 30, 2019
- The Mystery of Worship - December 2, 2017
Footnotes
- I Chron. 16 and compare to Psalm 105. See Ralph Wilson’s Psalms in Worship throughout the Centuries
- Cyrus Adler and Ludwig Blau, Liturgy in the Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906.
- Acts 10:9-16
- Aryeh Citron, Laws of Reciting the Shema (Part I)
- The Didache VIII.3
- Roman Catholics extended the Liturgy of the Hours into 9 canonical offices for monastics. Essentially, there is a short liturgy every 3 hours.