Group prayer can sometimes lead us into making a few mistakes. At some point or another, we’ve all made the mistake of praying for others. What I mean by that is praying in a way that is meant for others to hear us—or even worse, speaking to others through our prayers, or trying to teach others through our prayer.

This kind of “prayer” is often found in traditional or religious churches—but not only there. As was mentioned in the devotional thought, “Is the Church a House of Prayer for You?”, God calls us to pray in such a way that others may be edified and able to say “amen” to our prayer.

“What then shall I do? I will pray with the spirit, but I will also pray with understanding; I will sing with the spirit, but I will also sing with understanding. Otherwise, when you are praising God in the spirit, how can someone else, who is now among those who do not understand, say ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.”
1 Corinthians 14:15–17

Some people have read this passage and believed God was asking us to encourage others through our prayer, but that’s not quite right. Because of this over-interpretation, many prayer meetings have turned into “exhortative” or “teaching” prayer sessions.

What needs to be understood here is that when we pray, we are speaking directly to God. Our goal, our motivation, our desire should primarily be to touch God’s heart, to draw near to the throne of grace—not to encourage our brothers and sisters. The encouragement and edification of others are simply the consequences of our prayer, not the goal of it.

Paul exhorts us to pray in a way people can understand because when you pray with passion, when you pour out your love for God and for souls in prayer, when you intercede with tears for the lost, the whole church is edified. And then, people can join their faith with yours and say: “Amen!”

Never pray so that others will hear your beautiful words. That grieves God’s heart and drives away His presence. Some people who do this aren’t even speaking to God anymore—they’re just showing off how well they can pray. God becomes the second listener, when He was meant to be the first.

God doesn’t dwell in the encouragement to praise; He dwells in praise.

This is also the problem many worship teams face. In trying so hard to lead others into praise and worship, they end up never entering in themselves. They sing, but don’t worship. Many confuse emotion with the anointing or the presence of God. The truth is, a lot of worship leaders are just singing songs and trying everything they can to stir up the crowd—sometimes even in the flesh.

If you want God’s presence to descend, forget the people for a moment. Forget the crowd, and like David, worship God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind! Forget about encouraging others, and speak directly to God. As you worship Him with all your heart, His presence will descend, and that’s what will lead the people into worship.

Heidi Baker is a woman in whom I’ve seen this principle at work. She worships Jesus like a little child, and the anointing comes down. She’s not begging others to worship—she simply worships, and God’s presence descends. Then those whose hearts are open are freed and join in worship.

“What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.”
1 Corinthians 14:26

Have you noticed that prayer is not even mentioned in this verse? Actually, seeking God in prayer should take us further. As we draw near to Him, He may use us in spiritual gifts. He can give us revelations and instructions for others.

Don’t use prayer as a tool to teach others. If God gives you a revelation or instruction for someone, stand up—with your leader’s agreement and share what God has given you. If God gives you a tongue or an interpretation, remain in a prayerful atmosphere and bring that spiritual gift as if God Himself were speaking through you. If God gives you a song of worship, sing it to God with all your heart. If it’s a song of encouragement, a word of faith—declare it!

God might also lead you to declare who you are in Christ, to confess His Word—so do it boldly and with faith!

In short: if God calls you to speak to others, do it. If He calls you to exhort yourself, do it. But don’t use prayer as a means to teach others. If God calls you to teach, don’t do it through prayer, using God like a puppet.

I’ve often heard people begin their prayer with things like: “Lord, You know what happened yesterday morning… And then You showed me this vision earlier today…” The truth is, they’re not speaking to God—they just want others to hear about their struggles or their great “revelations.” That’s not how it should be. If you are speaking to God, speak to God.

Sadly, many people get into a prayer posture, close their eyes, and use prayer as a way to talk to or teach others. Sometimes we might even hear someone pray something that’s completely unbiblical, and we feel tempted to “correct” their prayer by praying the opposite—just to teach them.

That used to happen to me a lot early in my Christian walk. I would hear certain things and want to “set the record straight,” but that leads to teaching people through prayer. And you’re not even speaking to God anymore—you’re using God as a means to instruct others. And God does not approve of that.

So don’t pray for others. Pray to God for others!

This text is an excerpt from the book “365 DAYS AT THE MASTER’S FEET” Written by several French-speaking authors, the main one being Jérémy Sourdril.

We invite you to read the following article: “HOW TO OVERCOME FEAR?”