The small group is a great setting for God's people to learn how to pray for, and with others. But experiencing dynamic group prayer times is not always easy.
Here are some ways to encourage your people to pray.
1. Provide an opportunity for people to have their personal needs prayed for by letting them write them down on paper and exchange them with someone else.
2. When leading a group prayer time provide guidance on the front end in order to minimize the need to have to address problems. Here are some examples:
A. Inform the group that you don't want the prayer time to be dominated by anyone but want each member to have an opportunity to pray out loud. It is easier to warn of this ahead of time than it is to have to reign someone in after the fact.
B. Inform the group that the focus of your prayer time is to ask the Holy Spirit to help you apply the lessons learned from the evenings discussion.
C. Discuss the need to avoid prayers that are addressing group members rather than God. This is a common problem in group prayer meetings. People often, without realizing it, shift from communicating to God during group prayer times and use their prayers to "preach". Talking about this ahead of time eliminates the awkwardness of having to correct someone.
3. Help those who are uncomfortable praying out loud by encouraging them to offer a one sentence prayer. Let them know that they don't need to worry about the words they use. They can pray as if they were talking to a God who is right in the room with them - after all HE IS!
4. As in many other areas, prayer is more caught than taught. The leader sets the tone. If you are comfortable praying out loud you will help others learn by watching and listening to you. It is hard to start a fire in the heart of another unless one is burning in your own heart.
Pastor Randy
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