Ordained Minister October 2014: How to Pray in Prayer Meetings: Some Practical Suggestions (2023)

Prayer meetings are vital to the Church. However, prayer meetings can be difficult to manage. Most of those who conduct prayer meetings have encountered various difficulties. When Christians gather in families or small groups to pray, they usually go straight to prayer. However, when the congregation gathers to pray, the scene often changes. Rather than focusing primarily on prayer, most of the time is often used for answering questions or conducting Bible studies. The main purpose of prayer meetings should be to promote the Father's glory by expanding His Son's kingdom and doing His will by the power of the Spirit. The following instructions point out some common mistakes to avoid in corporate prayer meetings. Most of these instructions relate to our relationships with other believers and how to best use and unite our hearts in our prayer time together. These are practical suggestions without the power of "thus saith the Lord." They contain numerous biblical allusions, but no direct references. The object is to enhance our prayer meetings as an effective means of promoting the gospel and building up the Saints based on general scriptural principles, experience, and holy common sense.

1. Limit requests primarily to the first three requests of the Our Father.

The main purpose of prayer meetings should be to spread the glory of God through the gospel. The coming of the kingdom and the fulfillment of his will are the two main ways God does this. Pray that the father would glorify himself by preaching the gospel to his son. Pray for the Spirit to extend the kingdom by blessing the preaching of the Word, especially on the Lord's Day. That doesn't mean we shouldn't pray for the church's needs. It means that we are to pray for the church's needs to spread God's glory by honoring his name, promoting his kingdom, and doing his will.

2. Pray for other things in light of the first three requests of the Lord's Prayer.

For example, pray for the sick that they might come to know Christ better through their illnesses or come to know him in light of their illnesses. Pray for them to get better, but realize that this is a secondary purpose of praying for them. This is especially true when we pray together, where those present are less aware of the private details of the lives of the friends we are praying for. Don't give too many details about those we pray for, either in requests or in your prayers. The Lord will always bless our prayers for the growth of the saints amid tribulations. He will also use some of our prayers for the conversion of those lost in His suffering. This principle should center your private prayers as well as your public prayers. In other words, don't just pray, ask yourself what you're praying for and how your prayer glorifies God.

3. Pray the scriptures.

Praying with the language and content of Scripture is the best way to be sure both that God hears our prayers and that we gain the approval of others in the prayer meeting. Fewer people will disagree with the Scriptures themselves in community prayer than with our views on family, politics, the news, etc. When people who attend prayer meetings disagree with the Scriptures, those people face deeper problems. Praying the Scriptures is the best way to honor God and build up our brothers and sisters. This does not mean repeating God's biblical quotes, but carefully using and applying the language and ideas of Scripture. This will also increase your private prayers.

4. Come and pray.

Don't spend too much time on prayer requests. We are gathered to pray in prayer meetings, not to catch up on the latest news. Use prayer chains or smaller groups to share small details and small requests. Don't give minute-by-minute updates on patients' condition. Do not list the names of all lost family members and neighbors. The Lord knows our needs. Shared prayer should prioritize the company's needs and concerns. Use the Psalms as a model. The prayers contained in the Psalms transcend time and rarely contain specific names or circumstances. If so, they are usually attributed to the titles of the Psalms. We shouldn't need long prayer requests together. Use other means and opportunities for these purposes. This also applies to Bible study. A short Bible study can help prepare you for a prayer meeting. Long Bible studies impede prayer. Remember that the purpose of the meeting is prayer, not Bible study. Corporate prayer makes Bible study and preaching effective through the power of the Holy Spirit. People need to know that prayer is the main event and that it is vital even if there is no study involved. Anything that keeps them from spending most of their time in prayer together, whether it be petitions or study, distorts the nature of the prayer meeting and turns it into something else.

5. Don't be too specific in group prayer.

Everyone in a prayer meeting cringes when someone prays at length about the recent argument in their home; apparently everyone except the people who pray such inappropriate prayers. Respect the private details of people's lives at prayer meetings. Attendees do not need to know most of the details. Sometimes we are superstitious if we assume we need a list of names to pray for that includes everyone we care about. This is important in private prayer, but it can be distracting in public prayer. The Lord knows their names and can hear common prayers for lost people and other needs, whether we know their names or not. This does not mean that we should never pray for people by name, but we should be sparing and do so only when it adds value to the prayer meeting and increases the effectiveness of the prayers. Turning prayer into commentary on the latest happenings, whether in person or on the public news, turns prayer meetings into gossip groups. This happens more often than most people realize. Giving personal information about people's lives when it's not necessary is still gossip because we justify it with the excuse of praying for them. It's like using the phrase "bless your heart" to lighten the weight of the insults and insults that are likely to come. Corporate prayer for the kingdom of God should be less specific than private prayer. The rule of thumb should be: the more private your sentences are, the more specific they become. The purpose of common prayer is to pray as much as possible for common concerns.

6. Pray that the majority of those present will be able to say "Amen".

The Bible expects us to say "Amen" in prayer together. This is the shortest and perhaps the oldest creed in Scripture. In our "Amen" we witness our desire and our certainty to be heard. We cannot say "Amen" unless we understand and agree with what is being prayed for. This goes for both sides. You should pray in such a way that you expect others to say "Amen" to your prayers. Those who pray in joint prayer meetings speak for every Christian present in the congregation during that prayer. In this regard, it is helpful to avoid using "I" in a prayer meeting. If you cannot begin your petition or eulogy with "we", the petition is probably not appropriate for the context. Avoid controversial issues in common prayer as much as possible. If you are a Presbyterian praying in a Baptist prayer meeting, then don't pray for the Lord's blessing on domestic baptisms as a divine ordinance. Polemics are completely inappropriate in common prayer. They are repulsive in this context, even if they are so necessary in other situations. When we practice house baptism in a Presbyterian church, we should pray for the ordinance whether all those present agree to it or not. However, praying for the expansion of God's kingdom and glory through Christ and the Spirit is something all Christians can and should do. We are most ecumenical when we unite our hearts in common prayer. We need to express this by saying "Amen" out loud and praying that others will pray with us.

7. Avoid political references in your sentences.

We must pray for rulers and all authorities to know the truth and to live quiet and peaceful lives in holiness and reverence. We must pray that they will legislate justly, punish the wicked, and reward the righteous. However, Christians have different political views. Not all of us vote the same way. Therefore, praying together is not the time to settle our differences about which president to vote for, or to nominate bills and referendums. Why should we need it? Doesn't God know better than we do how to run our government agencies? His ideas about law and just wars may not be his own. You can stick to your opinions about these things, but exercise a little humility, especially in praying together. How many wars have been fought where both sides thought their cause was just? We cannot see things as God sees them. Our prospects are very limited. We often think that we can pray more accurately on national and international issues than we really can. If everyone in the prayer meeting got what they asked for in terms of policy, it would likely throw the nation into catastrophic confusion. Leave the details in your closet. Pray together in a truly communal way. Even if your position is correct, praying together is the wrong context to represent it. Collective prayer presupposes an agreement between those who pray; This is neither the place nor the time to seek an agreement.

8. Avoid unnecessary repetition.

It is helpful to think of the prayer meeting as one long, multi-part prayer, spoken by many voices and with united hearts. Christ's command to avoid useless repetitions in prayer applies with equal force to prayer meetings. In prayer meetings it is common for several people to repeat the same requests that others have already made. When others pray in prayer meetings, remember that it is your prayer too. If you don't want to and shouldn't repeat the same thing over and over again in your private prayers, then you shouldn't repeat in common prayer what others asked for. There are at least two exceptions to this rule. Repeat a request when you have something new to add that someone else hasn't added. However, consider this advice in light of the instructions above not to be too specific in public prayer unless necessary. We can also repeat an order if it places special weight on the gifts. For example, everyone in the prayer meeting must share a burden for church revival. Neither God nor man is weary when such cares dominate the hearts of all who pray. Concern for the spiritual vitality of the church and the spread of the gospel is pretty much the litmus test of a good prayer meeting. Everyone in the congregation could and perhaps should pray for revival. Again though, use a variety of sincere and genuine expressions in combination with biblical texts, rather than just repeating the same request.about to vomit🇧🇷 When five or six people make the same request in practically the same words, it is as despicable to God as it is to us when people talk to us like that in conversation. This rule does not exclude those who approach God with a child's heart and express their prayers with broken and broken expressions. Contrary to such people's self-understanding, such prayers rise like incense to heaven and are music to the ears of the saints who pray with them.

9. Keep your sentences short.

It is better for more people to make a few supplications at a time than for a few people to try to pray for all or pray in great detail for some of them. For example, if you are praying for someone who has cancer, pray for their spiritual and physical well-being. Those in the prayer meeting do not need to know the results of their recent blood tests, etc. This will in no way affect the content or effectiveness of prayer for them. Do not pray more than once unless necessary. If the prayer meeting is particularly large, leadership may need to assign people to pray on behalf of the group. In small groups, the widest possible participation is desirable. In any case, requests must be short and concise.

If the prayers fail early, the prayer meeting will end prematurely. When the Spirit greatly blesses joint prayer and people are energetic in spreading the gospel, don't close until people are finished. However, remember that extraordinary blessings must be extraordinary in a prayer meeting. Otherwise, this term is meaningless, if not contradictory. Time will be less of an issue in prayer meetings if most of the time is spent in prayer rather than prayer requests or Bible study.

11. Don't turn your prayers into sermons.

In public prayer you are talking to God in the presence of the people, not to the people on behalf of God. This is one of the worst and most common mistakes in prayer. When someone prays something like, "Lord, we know you told us to beware of temptation and that there are some people here who get themselves into tempting situations and know they should stop but don't, even though I've tried to face them" , so instead of praying, they preach. This type of prayer is very similar to the prayer of the Pharisee who "prayed for himself" and thanked God that he was not like other people. Their goal in prayer is to express the hearts of people people with your voice and not change people's opinions and practices with your exhortation. If there are problems that need to be resolved among Church members or areas of disagreement in doctrine or practice, raise these through a private admonition. offenses are subject to church discipline, others you simply have to accept. You do not inform God or your neighbor in your prayers. You must pray in a way that others can understand and agree with you. Others often see those who preach them in their prayers as false, insincere, and presumptuous. You are not doing yourself or the souls of others any good if you turn your prayers into veiled admonitions and interpretations of Scripture.

12. Encourage all types of people to pray.

Prayer meetings are one of the best opportunities to teach children to be an active part of the church. It is important to take our children to prayer meetings and teach them how to say short prayers. Children's prayer is one of the greatest stimuli for the church and one of the best opportunities for children to take responsibility for preaching the gospel. The rules that limit and shape our prayers should never stop the most vulnerable and uninformed from praying. As with all other things, we learned how to do it. While this is not the place to settle the controversy, women seem to have attended the prayer meeting in Acts 1.

13. In your prayers, remember to praise the triune God.

So properly concludes the Westminster Shorter Catechism. If our prayer meeting is consumed more with requests than with praise, then we have lost sight of the biblical pattern of prayer. We are to praise the Triune God for who He is and what He has done. All our orders must promote your fame and position among us and in the world. Prayer is many things, but above all it is an act of worship. Use the prayer meeting as an opportunity to worship and glorify the Lord and do it together. It is better to praise God with united hearts and voices than to do it alone. Look to the Psalms for numerous examples! Praising God and seeking His glory in common prayer is one of the best ways to promote Christ's kingdom and build up His people. I never heard a Christian say that there was a lot of worship and thanksgiving in a prayer meeting. This is what you will do when all the saints and angels are gathered in glory and when you see Christ face to face as he is. Praise him in your prayers together.

Ryan McGraw is a minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and serves the First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sunnyvale, California. He is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.ordained minister online, October 2014.