We were doing Bible study the other day, and we stopped reading about 10 minutes before it was time to leave, so that we could pray (we were reading Luke 18, which is kind of ironic). We spent about five minutes sharing what we thought we needed to pray about, and then spent about 5 minutes in prayer.
Is prayer really something to be done at the end of Bible study – for 5 minutes – like a little activity to close off the study? Is prayer really about making a laundry list of needs and praises and then reciting them to God?
“Ok, so we need to pray for your brother, for his friend, for my mom’s health, for our church, for Bill who is in the Navy, Jane passed her graduation exam – praise God, pray for us to live out what we just studied, and to help us drive home safely…. Joe, would you like to open us in prayer?
‘God, we just ask that you would show your presence and give strength to my brother as he goes through this hard time…’”
Really? When half the prayers we say are basically standard lines that we could say about (insert name here) and ask that God would help/encourage/show Himself/work in their heart/strengthen (circle one)…
Is this how prayer meetings are supposed to work? Or have we lost something along the way? What happened to praying without ceasing? Jesus (in Luke 18) tells us that we should pray always and not faint. The disciples spent pretty long amounts of time “continuing in prayer and supplication.” I have a really hard time imagining the apostles sitting around a room asking people for prayer requests and then designating an “opener in prayer” and then going around the room, praying about the things that people had brought up.
Is this how we talk to God? A five minute “we’ll talk now” session after we read our favorite part out of the book He loaned us? And we don’t even ask Him what He thinks about it…just “Hey, you know, it’d be really nice if you ran an errand for me; my neighbour needs your help.” If we’re feeling particularly righteous, we might even pray for 15 or even 30 minutes. Such devotion!
Petitions certainly have their place in prayer – but if whenever we get together to pray, it’s only to ask for this thing, that thing, and the other thing, then I think we’re missing something fundamental.
How then is prayer (in a group setting) supposed to work? What is it that prayer accomplishes? What is it that causes prayer to be truly effectual?
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Hi, let me share with you this e-book called God-Centered Praying by Zac Poonen. Copy paste this link on your browser. God bless http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/book_window.php?book=god-centred_praying
Thanks, Sharon.
It looks like a pretty good read. A lot of it sounds very similar to a book I already have -- "Prevailing Prayer" by Charles G. Finney:
http://books.google.com/books?id=nuN0Mcfq1HEC&dq=prevailing+prayer+finney&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=OU7tSdaOFafitAPpgb3lAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#PPA8,M1
How did you find my blog?
you have some good thoughts. i've kind of wondered the same thing myself.... i think that praying in a group setting like the one that you described is half prayer/half letting people know what's going on, without being all "oh, did you hear/see about so and so?"
because, personally, if people didn't share stuff in a group, i wouldn't know what to pray for them about once i got to the "prayer without ceasing" part of my life, when the group setting is over.
because, i'd rather be able to say, "please be with [so and so] as they're telling their friend about Jesus" instead of having to say, "please be with [so and so] and give them wisdom/strength/encouragement/blessings/etc." for me, it's easier to pray when i'm being specific about something.
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