Question Box

● When are we to start having prayer before our public meetings?

If your congregation has not yet begun to do so, this week is a good time to start. Since we look to Jehovah as our Instructor for his blessing and guidance, it is appropriate for our meetings to be opened and closed with prayer. (Isa. 54:13; John 6:45) This is true whether the meetings are attended only by regular members of the congregation or are ones to which the public has specially been invited. If two meetings are held, one after the other, then prayer is offered at the beginning and end of the entire program.

A capable brother, generally one of the elders or ministerial servants, should be assigned in advance to be chairman at the public meeting. After he warmly welcomes those in attendance, he will invite the congregation to join in a song of praise to Jehovah, and then he will usually offer the opening prayer. Following this, the chairman should inform the audience of the title of the talk to be given and introduce the speaker. His remarks ought to be very brief. After the talk, the chairman may make whatever announcements are appropriate for those present.

While the material at our public meetings is explained in terms that the public can grasp, it is not directed solely to newly interested ones. The information is also highly informative and upbuilding to the members of the congregation who are regular attenders. It is fitting that all of us, whether baptized Witnesses or persons newly interested, turn our hearts to Jehovah in prayer on such occasions, for truly he is our “Grand Instructor.”​—Isa. 30:20.