Skip to main content

Six Ideas to Develop A More Comfortable Prayer Routine

Yesterday I had a short conversation with a small group leader about the occasional difficulties of prayer in the small group setting. It seems that prayer is one of those things that people are just uncomfortable doing in public. I think the most obvious solution to this is to simply be faithful and consistent with your prayer time in group and eventually people will become more comfortable. However, here are six ideas you might use to help your group view prayer a little differently, and as a result they may become more comfortable with the idea of praying out loud together:

1. Choose a country in the world and spend a week researching that country. As a group pray for the countries’ spiritual, political, social, and physical needs. Pray for the missionaries you may know of serving in that country.
2. Have each person share about a person they have contact with that needs Christ. Pray specifically that God will create faith sharing opportunities with those people.
3. Allow time for everyone to quietly pray and meditate. After several minutes share with each other some encouraging things that God brought to mind during the quiet time.
4. Have each person write their name on a card. Pass the cards out to others in the group. Everyone in the group should commit to carrying the card with them all week and praying for the person on the card everytime they remember.
5. Take turns having a group member sit in the middle of a circle. Have them briefly share a few personal requests. While the group prays silently for the person, have one person pray aloud.
6. Discuss what it means to confess your sins to each other. Figure out a way to do it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Discussion Questions for Easter

Have several people ask the question, “What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done?” Ask other people, “What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years of your life?” Tell your class that today you’ll be talking about “life mission” or the one most important thing you do that drives everything else. Tell them that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the defining moment in history, so it should be the defining moment in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. How does the resurrection impact some of the crucial beliefs of Christianity?  How would Christianity be different if there was no resurrection? How would you be different without the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. What are some specific ways that the resurrection gives us hope? If you had been a friend of Jesus when he was on earth, how would the resurrection have impacted your life?  How do you think his followers then were effected by the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthian...

Community Killers: Crisis

Here is Part Two in my series on dealing with "Community Killers". Today the topic is "Crisis". Every group experiences crisis at some point. Death, illness, divorce, and financial ruin are just some of the issues that can threaten to destroy a group. These crisis, however, are not to be feared. Rather, they should be embraced as an opportunity for the group to care for one another in unique and deeply meaningful ways. The following are five suggestions (certainly not an exhaustive list) which can help a group handle crisis successfully: Openness. The first step in a group’s efforts to deal with crisis is simply knowing about and understanding the crisis. If a member does not feel comfortable sharing the crisis issues in their life, the group cannot come to their aid. A willingness to share not only the crisis situation, but also the details can significantly impact the degree to which the group can offer assistance. The role of the leader sometimes requires a per...

FIGHT CLUB! (iron sharpening iron)

Our youth pastor, Keith Sandison, has implemented "Fight Clubs" with the young men of our church. While these teenagers and young adults aren't actually pummeling each other physically, they are using the opportunity to aggressively challenge one another to be more attentive to their spiritual formation. Right now my son is participating in a fight club focusing on Proverbs. I love it. Keith has created a handout he uses for the fight clubs which lists seven different methods of "generic Bible study". I think the idea started with this post a few years ago, but as he often does; Keith took my thoughts and made them immensely more substantive and beneficial. Check out his system below: