How to pray as a small group (and how not to)

Almost every small group includes prayer.  Whether it is prayer before a meal,  prayer as an opener or closer, prayer circles, all pray, some pray, or leader prays, the fact is, most groups pray.  Here are a few things to consider when you are looking to add the element of prayer to your small group gathering.

Know your group:  Never assume that everyone in your group is as comfortable praying as you are.  Many people are not comfortable with prayer. Know your group members and avoid putting the person who is uncomfortable or new to prayer in the position where they are forced to pray (especially aloud). 

Stay modern day:  People often change their tone of voice and verbiage when they pray.  Some use Old English or King James language in an effort to express reverence toward God in prayer.  This kind of language change up can be confusing to someone who is new to prayer.  Using new or different "biblical" or uncommon words and phrases in prayer can cause a person who is new to prayer to doubt whether he or she can or should pray.  They begin to think that prayer is reserved for spiritual giants who have a lot of practice and have mastered the use of the right words, phrases or forms and postures for prayer.

Keep it short:  Praying short prayers encourages participation.  Praying short prayers (instead of exhaustive long prayers) will leave room for others to pray about requests that have been made or application points from the material.  Group members who are new to prayer may feel encouraged to pray when they know their small prayer fits in.

Hold Out:  Depending on the type of people you are hosting, you may want to hold out on including prayer (or at least group prayer) as  a part of your first few gatherings.  Holding out on praying together may give your group time to gel in other ways first.  You can use the first two weeks to build anticipation toward the week where you will begin including prayer.

Pre-plan posture:  Think about the poster you will choose and invite people to use when you pray.  Hand holding can be appropriate for a short prayers in unity, but it can be awkward and distracting for group members during extended prayer times.  The same is true for standing or kneeling and the laying on of hands.  There is nothing worse than experiencing sweaty palms or having to break the chain in order to cover a cough, sneeze or scratch an itch.



Change it up:  There are a lot of ways to pray.  For instance, group members may learn to pray using scripture.  Group members can participate in responsive reading prayers.  People may enjoy writing out their prayers to God (possibly allow some members read their written prayers aloud). Leaders can also suggest silent prayer, or paring off into smaller groups of 2 or 3 people.  Be creative but know your audience!

Follow Up:  If requests for prayer are spoken, have someone write them down (possibly even e-mail them out to the group to pray over during the week).  Follow up with the person the next week to see if there have been any outcomes related to the request for prayer.  This not only demonstrates care and concern, it communicates faith, anticipation and expectation that God will respond.  Answered prayer inspires more prayer and results in growing faith.


When and how do you use prayer in your small group?