Sometimes people feel intimidated by the idea of praying for someone in person. If you are a follower of Jesus it doesn’t need to be. In this simple video I will show you a strategy that you can use to feel comfortable stepping out and praying. (If you are a pastor or small group leader feel free to share this with your church or group)
My most popular post of all time is 10 reasons that people don’t go to your prayer meeting. When the average church in the United States has about 10% of the Sunday morning service involved in prayer ministry I can see why there is an interest. One of the main assignments that I have when I speak at churches is to help engage and equip people to be a part of the prayer culture of the church.
But since I can only be at about 40 churches a year let me give you a framework to think about improving your prayer meeting. I realize that what I am about to share may seem simplistic at points, but understand I am trying to give you a way of thinking about this important meeting that is clear. Most churches or ministry struggle between there prayer meeting being a prayer time and a prayer service. Let’s see which side of the spectrum your prayer meeting falls.
In January I was at the meetings of America’s National Prayer Committee. This is the group that helped found the National Day of Prayer. There are prayer leaders from all sorts of denominations and prayer ministries. This year there was about 60 in attendance.
As part of this event we took about a day and a half to discuss strategy for helping raise up prayer across the country. Among other things we would break into even smaller groups and discuss specific questions. It was an honor for me to sit in a small circle and discuss with some amazing leaders and hearing their thoughts.
In one of these discussions the conversation turned to a simple win for pastors and church leaders in raising up and training prayer in a church. These leaders were talking about the pastoral prayer. On a Sunday morning (or any church gathering) when the pastor goes to microphone to pray it is one of the great modeling moments for the church. If intentional over the course of weeks and months can create momentum for a praying church.