Integrating Prayer and Worship

PrayerLeader OnLine interviews Diane Thiel, worship pastor at The Marietta Vineyard Church, Marietta, GA

Q. Diane, from your role as a worship leader, what is the relationship of prayer to worship?

Both prayer and worship involve connecting with the heart of God. Both are a way of life. Worship brings us in to the very presence of God and what better place to communicate our devotion as well as our need.

Q. How does prayer serve worship?

Over the years (more than 20) I have been leading worship, I have realized that many people fall into the trap of singing about God and not to Him. This can keep us from being fully engaged. A spoken prayer or a time of prayerful reflection in the midst of singing can often wake us from the tendency to withhold our hearts as we praise Him.

Q. How does worship serve prayer?

Any spiritual discipline can so easily move from a heart response of devotion to one of duty. In worship, we enter in to the Most Holy Place and are overwhelmed at times by His presence. In this place, our faith is strengthened and we see just how small we really are and how awesome our God is. For me, it is in these times that the promises I know in my head (God is able to meet all my needs, I can do all things through Christ, ask and you will receive . . .) become alive.

Q. How would you counsel a prayer leader to work more closely with their congregation’s worship leader?

I think that any leaders involved in the spiritual growth of a local body should be finding time to regularly pray for the church. Over the last several years God has been reminding me over and over that He wants us to love the church like He does. This doesn’t always come naturally but prayer is the key! The more we realize that we are each just a part of the whole and were designed to need each other, the more effective our individual parts become.

Q. What are some ways prayer can be incorporated into a worship service? (the singing segments)

Interjecting spoken prayer can be very powerful especially if it flows with the direction established. It doesn’t necessarily need to happen at the end of a song. Consider praying over the music in the middle of a song relating to the lyrics. Singing a song of surrender for instance, pray a corporate prayer of surrender and then move back in to the chorus of the song. Another idea would be to continue to play softly and encourage the congregation to pray silently or even out loud. I am always encouraging those I lead to respond to God. Moving in and out of prayer should flow instead of a feeling of starting and stopping. Prayer can also provide entry points for people that tend to be observers rather than participants.

Q. Agree or disagree: “Songs that address the Lord directly are prayers set to music.”

Absolutely. Prayer is communication with God. Music is just a medium.

Q. It seems many of the great hymns of the Church are horizontal; they allow us to declare our faith in God and love for one another. List some hymns you have found that enable us to sing vertically, that offer praise or petition to the Lord.

I love to use hymns. Often times, I will change the pronouns on the last verse to move us from singing about God to singing to Him. For example, we use the beautiful Hymn, “Tis’ So Sweet,” but we sing the last verse.”I’m so glad I’ve learned to trust You.” Other hymns I have used are “Have Thine Own Way,” “I Surrender All,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “It is Well.” Connecting a hymn to a simple chorus in the same key can be very powerful.

Q. Prayer leaders often facilitate small groups in prayer. What ideas have you found helpful for integrating prayer and praise in small group settings?

I love to shake things up at times. Small groups are great places to try something different. One of the most powerful small group experiences I have had was when I lead a group in worship but with no songs. I instructed them to pour out there hearts of praise and worship through the spoken word. Worship songs are a great tool for personal worship but in reality they are someone else’s thoughts put to music. Much like a greeting card, singing a song is like signing your name to thoughts that express your heart. Challenge a small group to express their thoughts out loud. Encourage language they can relate to. Have them write their worship and then share it with each other.

Q. Many prayer facilitators are like me. They are not confident in leading out with a song (a capella) in a small group setting. Any helps?

I’d say keep it simple! If you are really uncomfortable singing, lead the group in speaking the words to a familiar chorus. Bring a cd player and invite the group to sing along. Vineyard music has just released a wonderful tool for just this purpose. They have a set of DVDs and Cd’s called Home Again. Basically it is acoustic worship and the DVD’s are designed so you can actually choose your own set list and the lyrics are displayed on your screen. A laptop computer would even be large enough for a small group to see the lyrics. It’s a wonderful idea and could be helpful in many settings.

Q. Diane, please write a prayer for prayer leaders who want to incorporate more praise and worship into their corporate praying.

Father, Our hearts desire is to know You! I ask that You would take us deeper. Teach us to worship You in ways that really touch Your heart. Guard us from seeking anything but You! As we draw near, overwhelm us with Your presence. May every breath and every heart beat bring You Honor. Let our very lives be an offering. Grant us faith as we bring our requests before You. In the Matchless Name of Jesus.. Amen

Diane’s Music:

Her story in song - "Mosaic, Stories and Songs" CD is available at http://www.beyondmeproductions.com as well as the story of the making of Mosaic.

Possibly the best song she has published, "If You Say Go," is available at http://www.vineyardmusicusa.com on the CD by the same name (also on a compilation CD called "Shout to the Earth").

Prayer Songs

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs We Sing to God

A wise prayer leader will have a list of songs with lyrics that cause the singer to speak directly to God because there is a difference between horizontal (“Praise Him”) and vertical (“We praise you, Lord”) language. Too often the songs we select speak about the Lord rather than directly to the Lord. The Holy Spirit has given us an increasing catalogue of contemporary upward focused songs but there are also many wonderful hymns that also serve as prayer songs. Look for hymns with lyrics that allow the group or congregation to sing their prayer to the Lord. Singing our prayer is often a good way to to focus the entire group on the same topic or to transition to the next theme.

A few suggestions, taken from The Celebration Hymnal (Word Music / Integrity Music):

Praise

God Our Father, We Adore Thee (p. 93)

Come Thou Almighty King (p. 8)

Lord, I Lift Your Name On High (p. 107)

Repentance

I Need Thee Every Hour (p. 638)

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (p. 11)

Ask

Fill My Cup Lord (p. 702)

O God, Our Help In Ages Past (p. 686)

Yield

I Surrender All (p. 596) (Change pronouns to You)

O Jesus I Have Promised (p. 676)