Task 3: Pray the manuscript
Essence of the task
This assignment specifically encourages you to place each section of your sermon before the Lord in prayer.
Detailed description
In addition to praying generally for the service and the people who will attend, it may come in handy to “pray your sermon.”
What I mean by this is this: read through your outline or manuscript “before the Lord.” Pray over each of the points. Ask God to use them. Ask Him to correct you if something is wrong. Ask Him to help you communicate that difficult idea in paragraph 3 on page 5 in a way that honors Him. Ask that the introduction will grab people’s attention. Ask that the conclusion will move people to reflection, or repentance, or some decision.
Basically, this is a kind of offertory review. You dedicate the message to the Lord, paragraph by paragraph.
To Do
There is not much more to say, but perhaps the following approaches may be helpful.
- Pray, especially, about the main affirmations that emerge from each block of thought in the passage. Since these statements are what God wants to communicate to the congregation, ask that they do so.
- Pray about the effectiveness of the introduction and conclusion.
- Intercede on behalf of how the listeners will hear particular points.
- Ask the Lord to keep you from using tones of voice that make you sound like more than what you are.
- Pray, above all, that God’s excellence and truth will be fully grasped.
To Keep in Mind
For me this is always one of those sacred moments when after so much hard work on the sermon, I realize again that I am only the spokesperson and that no matter how well I have prepared an exceptional sermon on the human level of research, structure, and expression, I will get nowhere if God does not choose to use it. It is also the time when I most realize how vital everything on paper is to my congregation. I have had some very intense moments when I have found myself praying with tears that the Lord would cause people to see some particular truth.
Yes, preaching is research and writing. Preaching is art and interpretation. But above all it is ministry. Ministry on behalf of a God who has communicated himself in person and word, and who wants his message to reach people with all his authority and love.