Suggestions best for the group emotional praying
http://navpress.comPRAYzing: creative prayer experiences from A to Z by Daniel Henderson
Navpress www.navpress.com 2007 148 page paperback
I am always interested in material which will make my personal prayer life better, this title captures my interest as I thought it might make prayer more real and alive to me.
The basic theme in the books was 26 different ways to spice up large group prayer retreats, one for each letter of the alphabet.
Daniel Henderson's specialty is prayer retreats and how to keep prayer alive and vibrant, the emphasis seemed to be on the more noisy and spirited the better. Often Bible verses and repetition from different quandrants of the room were used to make the atmosphere more charged and according to the author more worshipful to our Lord.
I found it to be somewhat contrived to fit the A-Z headings, the phrases and Bible verses chosen were matched. A-Awesome wonder E- Elimination communion 0- Open hands, grateful hearts were a few examples, chapters were 2-3. The suggestions were good if you wanted to have a large group respond and make verbal group prayers. A few of them might have worked with single person silent prayer, when they were worshipful, but it seemed to lean on loud repetition.
I like his chapter on Remember you Great Moments and Psalm 77:11-13 and Psalm 143:5-6 and the process of memorializing and reflecting on the moments when God gave you ZING, and using objects to remember or journal these events.
I think pastors or leaders in adult large group prayer settings would benefit the most, the inidividual reader the least. I am sure the Strategic Renewal International retreats the author gives are memorable to those who attend, as they are not filled with boredom but creative ideas.
My three questions would be.
1. Do you find to worship a.you need to be silent and thoughtful and awestruck or b. arms raised, voices loud and emotional to make your praise and communication to our Lord meaningful?
2. As you get older which style of prayer is most meaningful to you? Private or Corporate, responsive or repetitive to the same phrase?
3. How does praise songs and group emotional prayers and hymns and silent quaker like mediations effect you when with others.
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