A Comprehensive Guide to Corporate Prayer
God commands his people to pray together and answers graciously when they do. The Bible specifically calls on church leaders to guide this essential form of corporate worship, but it can be challenging to pray boldly and confidently in front of others.
This practical, step-by-step guide was created to help pastors and church leaders pray thoughtfully and biblically in public. Through seven guiding principles, Pat Quinn illustrates how to lead prayers of adoration, confession, and supplication to God, and covers the history of public prayer in Scripture. He also includes elegant, reverent, gospel-centered examples from the Latin Liturgy, John Calvin, the Puritans, John Wesley, and others, as well as many examples of his own congregational prayers. Pastors and church leaders will learn to glorify God more passionately, effectively intercede for the church and the world, and find joy—not fear—in praying publicly.
Read Chapter 1
Part 1: Overview and Principles
Introduction
Chapter 1: Adoration, Confession, and Supplication
Chapter 2: Bible-Saturated Prayer
Chapter 3: Trinitarian Prayer
Chapter 4: Thoughtful and Reverent Prayer
Chapter 5: Gospel-Centered Prayer
Chapter 6: Theological Prayer
Chapter 7: Well-Prepared Prayer
Part 2: Sample Prayers
Chapter 8: Prayers of Adoration
Chapter 9: Prayers of Confession
Chapter 10: Prayers of Supplication
Chapter 11: Composite Prayers
Author
Pat Quinn (MA, Calvin College) is director of counseling ministries at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, where he also serves as an elder and teacher. Quinn led worship at University Reformed Church for several decades, composing many worship songs and congregational prayers. Pat is married to Judie, and they have two grown children.
Endorsements
“We miss so many opportunities when public prayers in our churches are ill-prepared, uninformed, scattered, unbiblical, or nonexistent. Pat Quinn has served us immensely by providing a theologically informed, pastoral, Christ-exalting, clear, and insightful book that will serve anyone who has the privilege of leading God’s people in prayer. Loaded with examples of actual prayers, Praying in Public will make your public prayers more biblical, thoughtful, and God glorifying.”
Bob Kauflin, Director, Sovereign Grace Music; author, Worship Matters and True Worshipers
“The contemporary church desperately needs to recover a vision for the reformation of the pulpit pastoral prayer. Though well-intentioned, the pastoral prayer too often descends into something that is shallow and ill-conceived and reflects the spiritual poverty of the one praying. Pat Quinn’s book is a gold mine of reflection and practical aid to improve the pastoral prayer. I am convinced that if pastors and other leaders follow the instructions given in this marvelous book, congregations are going to be immensely blessed. I believe that many Christians, especially young Christians, learn to pray following the model of the pastoral prayer they hear on Sundays. My prayer is that this book will aid in the reformation of Christ’s church.”
Derek W. H. Thomas, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church; Chancellor’s Professor, Reformed Theological Seminary
“Praying in Public is a unique book and a very needed book. While we have many books on private prayer, few books walk us through a practical pastoral theology of corporate prayer—praying in public. Pat Quinn not only guides us through seven biblical principles of corporate prayer, he also illustrates these beautifully for us throughout his writing.”
Bob Kellemen, Academic Dean, Dean of Students, and Professor of Biblical Counseling, Faith Bible Seminary; author, Gospel-Centered Counseling
“As the modern church seeks to reach the present generation, it needs old solutions, not new solutions. Awakening in our day will occur as the church itself is revived. And that reviving will stem from a renewed spirit of prayerfulness. Here is a book to help lead the church down this path upon its knees for its own good and for the good of the world it seeks to reach. Pat Quinn provides practical help and rich examples to ignite prayerfulness in the life of readers and their local church. I have the honor of serving alongside the author at University Reformed Church. I can testify that Pat Quinn can write so adeptly about praying in public because he is a man whose life is suffused with praying in private. He has taught me much over the years and you will find him to be an able guide as well.”
Jason Helopoulos, Senior Pastor, University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Michigan; author, A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home
“This book delivers on its promise. Any Christian leader with the responsibility of praying in public will discover both guidance and resources in this helpful and instructive book. If you find The Valley of Vision useful in preparing for prayer in corporate worship, you’ll want this book. I know of no better volume on this important subject.”
Donald S. Whitney, Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Associate Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Family Worship; Praying the Bible; and Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
“Decades ago, when I was a youth pastor, I had the opportunity to preach at the local Christian high school’s chapel services. When the teens had all returned to their classrooms, Pat Quinn sat down with me and gently and pastorally provided me with a much-needed correction to how I approached the passage I had taught. Now I’m a middle-aged pastor, and Pat has done it again, but this time through a book. I encourage you to let this godly pastor sit you down and challenge you to humbly lead your congregation to the throne of grace in prayer.”
Noel Jesse Heikkinen, Teaching Pastor, Riverview Church; Regional Executive Director, Acts 29; author, Unchained and Wretched Saints
“While Jesus condemned those who parade their private prayer life publicly (‘to be seen by men’), he also taught his disciples how to pray rightly in public by both his example and precepts—even as they requested for him to ‘teach us to pray.’ So with Paul’s exhortation—‘I desire that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands’—I heartily commend this volume as a distillation of biblical insight on how to pray ‘everywhere rightly.’
Harry L. Reeder III, Senior Pastor, Briarwood Presbyterian Church
