How to Pray at a Holiday Gathering
November 23, 2022
Dear CPC Family,
As we gear up for family and holiday gatherings, there are many opportunities before us to speak about the glory of God in Christ. I hope you will take them!
One of the most common opportunities many of us will have is when we are asked to pray before meals at holiday gatherings. How can you make the most of this? Here are seven tips:
Plan ahead. You might have a hunch you’ll be asked to pray. It’s better to be prepared than to scramble when the host asks you. Just spend a few minutes thinking through what would honor the Lord and be edifying for those who are gathered with you. Let me encourage you to pray aboutyour opportunities to pray.
Remember your audience. Your primary audience for any prayer is God. It’s always pretty obvious when a prayer is intended to make a point to someone or some category of person in the room. Direct your prayer to God, remembering that we live (and pray) before His face. At the same time, it’s good to think about who will be gathered with you. You may be with a room full of fellow believers. You may be with a group of believers and unbelievers. You may have no idea. You don’t need to “water down” a prayer based on who is there, but some awareness will be helpful. Perhaps there is a special need that you know will be on the minds of many. Perhaps God has shown his mercy in a notable way over the last year. If you know there are unbelievers present, it is very appropriate to pray that the Lord would draw each person there closer to him.
Pray in a way that is fitting for the occasion. It’s good to thank the Lord for the food, for safety in travel, and for friends and family, but this can be pretty general. A Thanksgiving prayer, for example, should have a notably different emphasis compared to a Christmas prayer. Don’t be afraid to praise the Lord for the incarnation of Jesus Christ at Christmas or for his atoning death and glorious resurrection at Easter. After all, these historical events, so central to our faith, are the occasion for the gathering. Get specific!
Use Scripture. This does not need to be lengthy and, in some circumstances, should not be lengthy. But even a short passage from God’s Word is “living and active, sharper than any double edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). For tomorrow, perhaps you might base a prayer on Psalm 136:1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
Remember what prayer is. Our Confession of Faith defines prayer as “an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” (Shorter Catechism, Q98) This is a good outline to have in mind as you pray.
Don’t forget the basics. More than once I’ve focused so much on a theologically astute and biblically accurate prayer only to forget to thank God for the food and those who prepared it. Don’t be that guy.
Pray in the name of Jesus. Whenever we pray, we do so through our only Mediator, Jesus Christ. Don’t be afraid to pray in the name of the One who intercedes for us at God’s right hand.
May the Lord bless our holiday gatherings with his presence and remind us all of his great mercies to us and the perfect redemption and new life that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ!
In the Father’s love,
Pastor Andrew