Is prayer an integral part of worshiping, or is it possible to worship without a prayer?

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I've been an Evangelical, a Presbyterian, a Catholic, and I've had long discussions with Orthodox. Everyone I have come in contact with has been of the opinion that worship is prayer.


As is noted in the comments, worship is a type of prayer. They are not synonyms.

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Noticed no one mentioned the book of Corinthians. Specifically 1 Corinthians 14:14-17. You see, it tells us explicitly that "praying in the spirit" is giving thanks to God, which is part of telling God how much He means to you! Here it is, " For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say 'Amen' at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified." Oh sure, you my not believe tongues is for 'today', as I do, but you can not say it was not for 'then'. For back 'then' they did and it was 'giving thanks' (worship), well! Do not be unbelieving, Luke 11:13.

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Sorry that my answer isn't multitradition, but I can answer biblically speaking.

The Lord tells us to pray:

Ephesians 6:18 NIV

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Luke 18:1

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

And offers help in how to pray:

Romans 8:26-27 NIV

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will

And tells us WHY to pray:

Zechariah 13:9 NIV

This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'

So, what if you don't pray? I don't think it's a sin or you'd lose salvation because of it, but you will be a better person with it. It's a bit of stretch, but you could say that it's similar to adultery -

Matthew 5:28 NIV

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

But we have eyes to see and minds to think, thus we've all committed adultery (some more than others). However you will not lose your salvation, you'll just have a better life if you keep the eyes from wondering.

Upvote:1

Simple tautology

  1. Prayer is communication with God
  2. Worship is the act of telling God how much he means to you Ergo,
  3. Worship is a kind of prayer

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