. . . boring prayer meetings might be more fun than we realize! OK, maybe not fun. How about, valuable?
It must have been the Holy Spirit working on me because the other day I began to feel bad about how often I complain about how boring most church prayer meetings have become. Now, just to be clear, I still think too many small group or weeknight gatherings produce uninspired prayer. Same format 52 weeks in a row without any variance. New illness or crisis but same request; just fill in the blank. Same seating arrangement (circles never become rows of pews nor vice a versa ).
Lots can be done to remodel corporate prayer, but this is not that column.
Seems the Spirit thinks those predictive meetings that drive me crazy might offer me an unexpected opportunity to, well, to actually pray. His message is simple; redeem the time. Brother Harry droning on and on? Sister Chandra off on her tangent again? Three minutes of awkward, nobody-has-anything-else-to-say silence? Only down to item seven of 23 band-aid requests? Rather than squirm and stew
and instead of judging the prayers of others (not a good idea unless your prayers are limited to biblical quotes) -- pray!
Redeem the time of status quo praying by getting your eyes and ears off others and onto yourself. The Spirit's voice made it clear that the only person who agrees with my holier-than-thou, I-pray-better-than-you attitude is me. I'm not responsible for the boring-to-me praying of others; just responsible for myself. Thankfully the Lord has more patience than I do (I know how blessed I am by His perseverance of me in 99 other areas of life!).
So, next time I find myself grousing, I hope to remember one or two of the ideas on my "What to do during a boring prayer meeting" list.
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- "Be still and know that I am God." I need to get my attention off the bothersome habits of others onto the amazing beauties and stunning glories of our great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe boring is an opportunity to give God the praise I've been too busy to offer throughout the day.
- Pray for each person as they pray. Ask God to inspire their praying by giving them a deeper hunger and thirst for Spirit-led, worship-fed, corporate-bred praying. It is easy to judge; more difficult to bless.
- Read scriptures. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to a passage related to the prayer focus or simply a passage that you can pray back to the Father as you silently read it. "Father, we seem stuck again on rehearsing our list but I want to pray from Your Word and declare Your intention for us to _____."
- Write a prayer. So, if you've already prayed several times or the focus is stuck in a myopic groove, then write a better prayer. The written prayer of a no-longer-judging person is powerful and effective. Read it silently or alound.
- Prayerwalk. Everyone will think you are going to the rest room so get up and get out. Take a prayerwalk to your child's Sunday school room or to the front door of the church facility and ask God to send the believers out and to bring the lost and lonely in. Or, if all else fails, or simply walk out of the room and take a break to get your mind off the boring prayer meeting for awhile.
- Cover your pastor. Spend time thanking God for your pastor and other leaders. Intercede for their needs; body, soul (mind-heart-will) and spirit. Include their family. Bless them with an increasing vision for a hunger and thirsty for prayer ministry.
- Meditate on a name of Jesus. "Holy Spirit, Your role is to reflect Christ to us; remind me of His greatness and glory." Then as He does, give thanks for this amazing-grace Savior and invite Him to be the center of your lifestyle and the first love of the entire congregation.
- Add "so that" to the end of someone's prayer. Turn a reactive prayer ("Lord, our sister is sick, please heal her") into a proactive prayer (..."Yes Lord, heal our sister so that she can return to her fifth grade Sunday school class and disciple those boys into authentic followers of Christ.").
- Inject a scripture rather than a prayer. As the Spirit leads you to a scripture verse or passage, read it aloud as your prayer, maybe changing pronouns to personalize the word of God into your petition or praise.
- Start a song everyone knows. Sing a chorus or hymn with lyrics directed toward God or relevant to the focus of previous prayers.
- Share a Holy Spirit thought. (Speaking to the group) "As I listen to our prayers and mediate on the scriptures, it seems to me the Lord might want us to go back to our earlier burden about the young people in our community. Let's pray for God to raise up leaders they will respect who can point them to Christ on their campus."
- Cry out . . . Kneel . . . Lay prostrate on the floor . . . Raise holy hands. Use sound or posture to reveal the depth of your burden or joy.
I realize how easy it is to point a finger but it seems to me boring prayer meetings have potential to be more fun than we realize!
Phil Miglioratti
Church Prayer Leaders Network
Comments
Let us know of further progress,
Phil
I am going to take the suggestions to my intercessory prayer team meeting tomorrow as a further example of how they should be leading others to pray. I have said the very same thing you just said.
This will reinforce what I have been streesing to the team ,- that there is a more effective way to pray.
I must admit the church prayer meetings on First Wednesday at my church are improving as, I by the guidance of the Holy Ghost, encourag them to pray " focused intercessory corporate prayers, Spirit led prayers and kingdom focused prayers. Thanks for the reinforcement.