Prayer During District Assemblies

by Tenacious 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Tenacious
    Tenacious

    There's something that I've always wondered about yet could never truly understand.

    Does anyone know why during district assemblies a prayer is done during the last day after coming back from lunch?

    I can't quite remember if it's done other days but I believe this is done on the last day.

    I know that many brothers will usually continue standing after the song after lunch on all three days until they are asked to sit down.

    Can anyone shed some light on this practice?

  • stillin
    stillin

    After lunch there is a talk called a public talk. The idea is that this may be the only talk that invited ones come to hear.

    that's my understanding.

  • _Morpheus
    _Morpheus
    Stillin nailed it. That is the sole reason. All for show for the visitors
  • blondie
    blondie
    There was a time when the WTS did not have an opening prayer for the public talk at the KH or at assemblies/conventions. They did not want to offend the non-jws in the audience. Around 1970 they stopped that.
  • hoser
    hoser
    Blondie I never knew that before. Thanks.
  • Tenacious
    Tenacious

    Thanks for the replies.

    I just always found it very odd that brothers continue standing after the lunch song waiting to be instructed to sit down. Any normal person would just sit down and get ready to listen.

  • skin
    skin
    After more than 20 years of going to assemblies/conventions I hadn't picked up on this one. We got an assembly in a few weeks time, now they are only one day long so will be interesting.
  • stuckinarut2
    stuckinarut2

    I find it more interesting that the prayers at conventions seem to be for the purpose of teaching Jehovah!

    They are simply summaries of everything that is being taught or will be taught throughout the day, as if Jehovah hadn't picked up on it until the prayer was said!

  • AFRIKANMAN
    AFRIKANMAN

    Yep - its because the Talk immediately after the Sunday lunch is the Public Talk - always given by the Uber - Officer

    And if you have a winky you can reach out to be selected to give the prayer !If you are the Chairman for the PM session of course - but you can reach out to be chairman too !! Privileges !!

  • steve2
    steve2

    Praying after the midday meal - and before the Public Talk - is relstively ineffective. Jehovah God is likely to be grabbing 40 winks then. On the plus side, He is much less likely to notice your unfortunate and perhaps even unintentional poor word choice.

    Once, I offered a prayer at the start of one of the meetings and I was mortified to subsequently realize I had forgotten to express my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. I recall worrying about it for days and thinking I could plausibly be struck down by Jehovah's heavenly forces for the serious overdight. I had no Plan B. That was several decades ago. I haven't yet been struck down and have since concluded opening prayers are easier to ignore, whether human or Divine.

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