The Church Gathering to Pray 

A good friend of mine said, “I get a lot more out of sitting on a log in the woods and listening to the birds than I do out of sitting in a pew and listening to a preacher.” To non-Christians, much of what goes on in a worship service is boring and irrelevant. The problem is that non-Christians, and even many Christians, don’t understand the importance of the Church gathering to pray and worship. Much of this misunderstanding is based on misconceptions about God or a failure to understand what Christianity is about.

The worship service is not something designed to meet a need God has, since God has no needs. He doesn’t need us to pray to Him to let Him know what is happening on Earth! If we understand that “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), then surely we realize that God is not ignorant of day-to-day events. Jesus said God knows when a sparrow falls to the ground (Matthew 10:29).

Atheists portray God as a jealous egomaniac who uses and exploits people for His own ends. Those who believe God commands prayer for His own needs don’t understand God’s nature. He has no needs or weaknesses. Turning God into a man creates misconceptions that distort the purpose of the Church gathering to pray.

If prayer is not for God’s benefit, then it must clearly be for ours. The beneficial aspects of an active prayer life are widely accepted by anyone who deals with human issues. Learning to look to a higher power is a fundamental part of almost all twelve-step programs for overcoming addictions. The Church gathering to pray together fosters unity and peace.

Jesus condemned those who turned prayer into a public display of their religiosity. In Matthew 6:5, He said, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.” Everything done in a worship service needs to be understood in the same way. It is not to impress others but to fulfill our need to praise and worship God.

 There are other aspects of worshiping together that make it better than “sitting on a log in the woods listening to the birds.” We will deal with those tomorrow.

— John N. Clayton © 2025