We don’t have to settle for cold, lifeless group prayer. Here are some strategies to bring heat and life into those times together. [1]
- Pray a large portion of the time at the “prayer meeting” (as opposed to having a Bible study and only praying a little).
- If there will be multiple participants, consider avoiding rows which are sometimes an unnecessary hindrance to communication.
- Teach something from Scripture that might encourage more and better prayer (God’s character; the cross; Jesus’ prayer life; Paul’s prayers; etc.).
- Tell a story from church history about believers praying together and God answering. [2]
- Share current answers to prayer and thank God.
- Hear updates about and pray for current missions work. [3]
- If leading, say, “Share with the group what you would consider is one of your greatest burdens that, if we prayed for nothing else for you, you would like us to pray for that.”
- If you are leading, make sure those in attendance know how the praying will happen (i.e., one request at a time; how it will end; etc.).
- If you break down into small groups, have someone take the lead in each group. (One reason: small groups are notorious for talking instead of praying immediately.)
- Prepare some people before the gathering to “jump right in and pray.”
- Remind people that we are praying with the Spirit’s help in the name of Jesus to our Father who loves us. Therefore, we don’t have to sound impressive or eloquent:
God looks not at the elegance of your prayers, to see how neat they are; nor yet at the geometry of your prayers, to see how long they are; nor yet at the arithmetic of your prayers, to see how many they are; nor yet at the music of your prayers, nor yet at the sweetness of your voice, nor yet at the logic of your prayers; but at the sincerity of your prayers, how hearty they are. [4]
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[1] I mainly have in mind organized times of prayer that happen in the life of a church, though some of these might also apply to spontaneous group prayer.
[2] There may be some differences among readers regarding who may pray when both men and women are in a meeting. Yet, these ideas can also be applied to other gatherings of believers, such as a women’s meeting.
[3] Paul asked churches to pray for his ministry at least six times: Rom 15:30-32; 2 Cor 1:11; Eph 6:19-20; Col 4:3-4; 1 Th 5:25; 2 Th 3:1-2; cf. Philippians 1:19.
[4] Thomas Brooks, Works, Vol. 2 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1980), 256.