Praying with Others
An excerpt from Tools for Mentoring Prayer Module by Joy Schroeder
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Praying in a group is participating in a conversation together with God. Think of it as you and your friends sitting with Jesus around the table and, as a group, telling Him about the concerns you need His help with. What would the conversation be like? Rather than one person listing all the requests to Jesus while the rest of you sit and listen, someone starts a topic and others contribute to it until the topic is complete. It's like each person adding a piece to a puzzle. People keep the conversation moving by making their contributions one after the other so there are no awkward silences. Usually, you know when no one else has anything they want to contribute because there's a short silence. Then someone can start a new topic.
Listen to what the Holy Spirit wants you to pray, and also pray what you already know. Even if many thoughts come to mind that you could contribute to the topic, pray aloud just one of them and see if others come up with the rest. You can add something later if it wasn't covered.
Stay engaged. Don't get distracted by what you want to pray next or by something unrelated. Agree with what's being prayed and then add to the topic; the conversation goes deeper as it becomes more specific. When you "agree" with someone's prayers, you add your faith to theirs. You are doing your part on a battering ram.
Again, truly I [Jesus] tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:19-20
In summary, use these two ground rules when praying with others (Ruark):
- Stay with one topic at a time, allowing someone else to add to that topic before proceeding. Build on the prayers of others, as in a conversation. Stay on the topic until everyone who wishes to contribute has had an opportunity.
- Proceed topically. When a topic is complete, someone—not just the leader—can move on to the next topic.
Source
Ruark, Dave. Tuning Up a Boring Prayer Meeting. Student Leadership Journal archives. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: 2005. <http://cms.intervarsity.org/slj/article/4096>
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