•5 Summer-Time Prayer Action Steps
- Family Table ~ Ask every family to take at least one family meal each week to pray for their neighbors (who live nearby, people they work with, fellow students ...) AND to keep a log of the names and the needs the Lord leads them to pray for. During a Sunday morning service in August, ask families to come prepared to share their prayers and God's responses.
- Church Picnic ~ before the festivities begin, ask every family to form a circle and to pray (facing inward) for the Church and then to pray (now facing outward (for the community)
- Weeknight Prayer Meeting ~ take the prayer time outside (if some cannot handle the walk or the heat, they may stay inside and pray) and use this as a template: Ask everyone to pray with their eyes open, looking at (and praying for):
- God's creation, then
- the church facilities, then
- north (is there a school north of the building?)
- south (business district?)
- east (hospital?
- west (homes?)
- Secret Saint ~ You've heard of Secret Santa? (you receive a gift but do not know who it is from) How about asking everyone in the congregation to become an in-secret intercessor? Assign everyone (include youth and older children) someone to pray for on a Sunday morning (a reverse offering; everyone picks a name as a basket is passed) then the following Sunday simply ask for testimonies of what is was like to pray once-a-day- for their person or anyone sensed a special blessing from the Lord because someone was praying for them.
- Pastoral Prayer ~ recruit someone to "pinch hit" for the pastor over the summer; encourage them to pray from their deepest passion.
Comments
Great prayer action steps to encourage others to pray more.
Please post a report (photos?) of any ways you've applied these ideas . . .
Sounds like sound summertime fun, thanks!
thank you for the added ideas. I love the picnic, picking a name from the basket, outdoor prayer. I just started
a class after church on prayer. Your suggestions will add greatly to my class.