Date of Award
Spring 5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Primary Advisor
Mark Hamilton
Secondary Advisor
Tera Harmon
Committee Reader
James Gorman
Abstract
This dissertation was designed to enhance corporate prayer in the Clearwater Church of Christ. The dissertation explores the formative role of corporate prayer in congregational life and how intentional engagement with the Psalms can deepen the theological and spiritual practice of prayer within a local church. Corporate prayer can slip into habitual practice with limited theological range or emotional depth. This project investigates whether structured use of the Psalms as a model for prayer can expand the language, theological imagination, and engagement in the prayers of a worshiping community. The study used participatory action research methodology and was conducted within the Clearwater Church of Christ through a six-session intervention focused on three primary movements of Psalmic prayer: invocation, praise, and wisdom/lament. Each session combined theological instruction with guided communal prayer practices drawn from the Psalms. Data were collected through participant questionnaires, field notes, and an external theological evaluation. These materials were analyzed using thematic coding in order to identify emerging patterns, including development and resistance. Findings indicate that intentional engagement with Psalms broadened participants awareness of the range of biblical prayer and increased their comfort with different forms of prayer. At the same time, moments of hesitation and silence revealed the influence of
existing congregational habits that shaped expectations about how prayer should sound in public worship. This study concludes that corporate prayer functions as a formative theological practice and that sustained engagement with the Psalms can help congregations develop a deeper theological reflection and engagement with prayer practices.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hinsdale, Lyle, "Enhancing Corporate Prayer of the Clearwater Church of Christ" (2026). Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations. 72.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/dmin_theses/72
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