Corporate Worship vs. Private Prayer in Christian Practice

Introduction

Today, some Christians may be confused about their personal style of worshipping or question the need for formal worship in an age where everyone's time is valuable and schedules are packed. To gain fresh insights into these issues, this paper seeks to answer the question: "Is worshipping together with other believers in formal worship services necessary to a healthy spiritual life?" In this context, "formal worshipping" means regular and planned church attendance rather than a particular style of service. To that end, this paper provides a review of relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly, and biblical literature to support the need for corporate worship. This type of worship is not to the exclusion of private worship, but the scriptures show that God wants his followers to have a corporate church to facilitate fellowship among Christians. A summary of the research and important findings is presented in the conclusion.

Defining Corporate Worship and Private Prayer

There has been considerable controversy concerning Christian worship practices because there is no universal hermeneutical and theological framework available to develop a biblical theology of worship (Farley, 2008). According to Farley, "The hermeneutical diversity that exists goes deeper than mere disagreements over the interpretation and application of specific texts. There is also a substantial lack of agreement about which biblical texts are relevant and applicable to Christian worship at all" (p. 592). When modern Christians say they are going to "pray," the general consensus is that this means engaging in private prayer. Likewise, when people say they are going to "worship," this is typically interpreted to mean corporate worship. Biblical scholars, however, do not enjoy this level of precise understanding, because the word "pray" in the Bible can refer to either activity. As Bailey (1983) emphasizes, "A part of our problem in the West is that the English verb [pray] is almost exclusively applied to private devotions, and the verb [worship] is used for corporate worship. However, in biblical literature, the verb [pray] can mean either" (p. 145).

For modern Christians, the distinction between private prayer and corporate worship may be especially confusing. Farley (1998) emphasizes that, "The greatest obstacle to becoming aware of the oddity of our Sunday worship, however, is our difficulty in properly defining the term. 'Worship' can, of course, be a synonym for the ritual activities of Sunday morning. To participate in these activities is, then, to worship" (p. 276). Simply attending church and "going through the motions," however, is insufficient to fully participate in corporate worship. Farley (1998) adds that, "If we allow the referent of worship to set the definition, then we must conclude that worship is an engagement with the sacred. In corporate worship, this engagement moves through a variety of acts: confession of sin, praise, celebrative remembrance and gratitude" (p. 276). It is this aspect of public, or corporate worship, that serves to enhance individual Christians' ability to offer praise and reverence to the Almighty. As Farley concludes, "If the sacred is both the ineffably mysterious (the very creativity of things) and the self-expressively gracious or loving (the redemptive power in human history), then every genuine act of worship will direct itself or open itself to this Mystery of ultimate love. So directed, worship combines awe before Mystery and deep reverence for the Good" (p. 277).