Prayer in

Baptist Wor ship

by Christopher Ellis

Some years ago I began to research the development of worship amongst Baptists, not an easy task when many worship services do not follow a transcribed liturgy and in which most prayers are not pre-composed or catalogued for future use.

This concern for a living, personal faith has remained a key aspect of Baptist evangelical identity and, in particular, the emphasis on extempore prayer a continuing expression of this heart worship.

I want to suggest two approaches to prayer that we would do well to explore more than many of us do at present. It is important to balance our trusting inclination to bring requests to God with a readiness to seek the Giver beyond the gifts. Through this process, we can learn from other parts of the church, both catholic and evangelical and from previous generations Worship can tend to be verbose. Yet for persons who know each other well and love one another, silence can be deep and rich. As Baptists, we have a deep respect for scripture. We read it for information, for inspiration and for revelation. We call it “the word of God” but how often do we read it as a means of coming close to God. In recent years the ancient, Benedictine practice of lectio divina has become increasingly used across many denominations. The words literally mean “divine reading” and are often paraphrased as “spiritual reading,” but I prefer to speak of “prayerful reading.” It is the reading of scripture in order for the words of scripture to bring an individual closer to God – and to be open to God coming close to that individual. While the term can be used quite fl exibly, the practice of lectio divina

Importance of Liturgy continued

than by the church. Because Christmas and Easter have been commercialized, we do them, and we add in Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and a couple of other things that are actually being driven by the greeting card industry rather than by church tradition. Going with the full church calendar and the lectionary is a helpful way of making sure that our calendar is governed by the saving acts of God in Christ rather than governed by the greeting card industry.

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traditionally has four stages: reading, when the scripture is read and re-read; meditating, when the reader refl ects and chews over the words, asking what their relevance might be for them; praying, when the themes that have emerged from the meditation are recast and addressed to God; and contemplation, which is beyond prayer, where the one praying simply rests in the presence of God. This is no mere formula. There is no guarantee offering a profound spiritual experience. Like each of the spiritual disciplines, lectio divina simply prepares the one praying to be open to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

He continues to point out the importance of faith, hope, and love. But there will come a time when faith is no longer needed, theology will be unnecessary, for we shall see face to face. There will come a time when hope is no longer needed for the kingdom will have come and prayers of petition will be redundant. But love – always there will be love – for God is love – always love.

Christopher Ellis, from the United Kingdom, is pastor of West

Bridgford Baptist Church in Nottingham. He is past principal of Bristol Baptist College. This article comprises brief excerpts of a much longer theological paper presented by Ellis at a meeting of the BWA Commission on Baptist Worship and Spirituality, of which he is a former chair. Footnotes have been removed.

The Christian calendar and lectionary are helpful in at least one other way: “Making sure that our preaching and our worship life treat a range of subject matters and themes.” Those who do not follow the Christian calendar and refuse to make use of the three- year lectionary tend to be narrow and shallow in their preaching and worship. Nettleton quoted research from out of the United States that found that the average repertoire across a preacher’s entire career was 65 texts. “They just kept coming back to those 65 texts over and over again. If you use the lectionary you have to have at least 150. You can’t go less than that.” Then he gave somewhat of a personal testimony. “If I had not