Jesus' prayer in John 17 was a personal prayer of Jesus not leading a group. So the question is do you know a place in the Bible where an individual was leading a group in prayer just not praying in the presence of a group? Is there a place in the Bible where an individual led a group in general prayer for everything from healing the sick to "if we are found faithful" a home in heaven?
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My two cents - Mot "public" praying led by an individual is in the Old Testament, New Testament examples are personal (Pauline) and corporate (Acts). Paul tells the Colossians to spend-much-time-together-in-the-place-of-prayer (4:2) (translated as be devoted to prayer) ...
Respectfully continue to wonder from your reference.
Col 4.2 Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving. (Amp.) Seems very personal.
May I please have the O.T. examples to which you refer? TY.
There are several examples in the OT of an individual leading out in what I call "corporate prayer" (that is, where one "CEO-type" prays on behalf of a gathered group). The dedication of the Temple in 1 Kings 8 might be the most famous example. Exodus 15 is an example of a person leading out in corporate worship (song of Moses after God destroyed the Egyptian army at the Red Sea).
Jesus often prayed in the context of performing miracles, but that wouldn't really be the same as leading a group in prayer. We see a few examples of group prayer (what I call "community prayer", where people participate on an equal footing, as opposed to "corporate prayer" as above) in Acts. Acts 1:14 and 2:42 make it clear that the early church was in the habit of praying together on an ongoing basis. Specific examples can be found in Acts 4:23-31; Acts 12:12; and Acts 13, although only in the first case do we know the words that were prayed. And I'm not sure if this really answers your question about an individual leading a group in prayer - these were examples of groups praying together, but we don't really get a glimpse of how it was led or who might have led it, etc.
With regard to Colossians 4:2 and other commands of Paul to pray, I think we need to remember that these commands were given first and foremost to churches as bodies, not to individuals. The western mindset so individualizes things that we read these verses through a lens of personal, private prayer - but I don't think the context or the environment of the epistles supports that as a primary reading. Certainly, these verses CAN be applied to private prayer - but if that's the only application, we miss out on their primary point. Especially when taken in context of a church that regularly prayed together throughout the book of Acts, I think it's not too much of a stretch to see the primary reference to community prayer here and in passages like Ephesians 6:10-19.
Again, if you're looking for specific examples of how such groups were led, how the leader set them up, etc., I don't think that Scripture goes into detail on those specifics. I think there are some good guidelines for how to pray together effectively as a group throughout Scripture, but I'm not aware of a specific place where an example or template of how to lead such a gathering is really given.
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Col 4.2 Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving. (Amp.) Seems very personal.
May I please have the O.T. examples to which you refer? TY.
There are several examples in the OT of an individual leading out in what I call "corporate prayer" (that is, where one "CEO-type" prays on behalf of a gathered group). The dedication of the Temple in 1 Kings 8 might be the most famous example. Exodus 15 is an example of a person leading out in corporate worship (song of Moses after God destroyed the Egyptian army at the Red Sea).
Jesus often prayed in the context of performing miracles, but that wouldn't really be the same as leading a group in prayer. We see a few examples of group prayer (what I call "community prayer", where people participate on an equal footing, as opposed to "corporate prayer" as above) in Acts. Acts 1:14 and 2:42 make it clear that the early church was in the habit of praying together on an ongoing basis. Specific examples can be found in Acts 4:23-31; Acts 12:12; and Acts 13, although only in the first case do we know the words that were prayed. And I'm not sure if this really answers your question about an individual leading a group in prayer - these were examples of groups praying together, but we don't really get a glimpse of how it was led or who might have led it, etc.
With regard to Colossians 4:2 and other commands of Paul to pray, I think we need to remember that these commands were given first and foremost to churches as bodies, not to individuals. The western mindset so individualizes things that we read these verses through a lens of personal, private prayer - but I don't think the context or the environment of the epistles supports that as a primary reading. Certainly, these verses CAN be applied to private prayer - but if that's the only application, we miss out on their primary point. Especially when taken in context of a church that regularly prayed together throughout the book of Acts, I think it's not too much of a stretch to see the primary reference to community prayer here and in passages like Ephesians 6:10-19.
Again, if you're looking for specific examples of how such groups were led, how the leader set them up, etc., I don't think that Scripture goes into detail on those specifics. I think there are some good guidelines for how to pray together effectively as a group throughout Scripture, but I'm not aware of a specific place where an example or template of how to lead such a gathering is really given.