Are you thinking about holding a prayer meeting in your home but not sure how to prepare? If you follow the Steps below, you can prepare and lead a blessed and meaningful meeting.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Planning the prayer meeting
Step 1. Choose a suitable time
Remember that people are busy, and they probably won't be able to attend at certain times of the day. For example, if you schedule your meeting in the morning or on a Friday night, many will fail to show up. Try to choose a time that is convenient for people, such as a Sunday afternoon or some weekday evening.
- Choose a time when many people can attend. There are always times when most people have some free time.
- A prayer meeting lasts about an hour, but you can always adjust the length.
Step 2. Involve church leadership
Even if you want to hold a prayer meeting outside the church, you need to involve your pastor. By itself, this ensures that people respect the legitimacy of the encounter.
Step 3. Choose a location
Generally, prayer meetings are held in prayer halls or elsewhere on church premises. Despite this, you can also hold meetings in other places, such as your home, for example. In any case, make sure the place is clean and ready to receive the brothers.
Step 4. Announce the meeting to all members of the congregation
Do this during the service, send letters or emails. Try to involve as many people as possible in order to strengthen your prayers.
Step 5. Encourage the brothers to attend the meetings
Some people are afraid to join a new group. Talk to them individually and encourage them to attend. Sometimes all one needs to participate is a little push.
Step 6. Decide the format of the meeting
You can keep the whole group together for prayers. If it's a really big group, you may need to break it up into smaller groups. An alternative would be to ask each person to pray for a specific issue, or even assign small groups to do so.
You can also split the meeting into multiple times; everyone can start by praying together and then the group splits up to intercede for more personal issues
Step 7. Plan meetings in advance
Planning makes the difference between a passionate meeting and a completely dull and ineffective one. People need guidance, prayer categories, models and boundaries. By planning everything in advance, you'll be able to keep people interested.
Step 8. Choose issues to pray for
These questions need to be relevant so that people have a clear objective. This will keep everyone motivated to attend the next meetings.
Part 2 of 3: Conducting the prayer meeting
Step 1. Consider starting with a few minutes of silence and meditation
A short period of silence can help people connect with God. Encourage participants to fully focus on the Lord during this time.
The group can sing two or three hymns before prayers
Step 2. Some instructions may be helpful before starting prayers
Many people need to be instructed to feel more comfortable during the meeting. For them, it could make the difference between showing up or not next time.
Step 3. Briefly talk about prayer requests
It's a good idea to allow those present to make their own personal requests. However, try to avoid the time for this conversation to exceed five minutes. Otherwise, your prayer meeting can easily turn into a social gathering.
Step 4. Read a short passage from the Bible
This is not really necessary, but it can help people get in touch with the spirituality of the moment. Choose a short passage so that your reading does not exceed 10 minutes.
Step 5. Pray
After all, this is the idea of the meeting. If you allow people to talk all the time or read entire chapters of the Bible, the meeting will detract from its original purpose. Make sure you stay focused on your meeting.
Step 6. Vary
Make each meeting a little different from the one before. You can increase or decrease the size of the group, set a day of confessional prayers, sing-alongs, and even a day dedicated just to answering prayer requests.
Step 7. Allow people to pray for short periods
Let them pray when they feel the desire to do this, instead of making a wheel and going counterclockwise, for example. In addition to being time-consuming, this method is very forced, which prevents people from being spontaneous by simply making them complete someone else's prayer.
Step 8. Pray one issue at a time
Once that is done, proceed to the next question. You should only change the subject when you have exhausted it. This prevents the brothers from getting lost and strengthens their prayers.
Step 9. Praying for an hour may seem difficult, but if you divide this time into short, sung, silent, and recited prayers, you will find that time will go by faster than you think
When you least expect it, the meeting will be over.
On the other hand, don't be afraid of silence. Allow people time to connect with the spirituality of the moment
Step 10. As with all other moments in the meeting, its closing must also be done properly
A good way to do this is to read a relevant biblical passage.
Part 3 of 3: Making the Most of Your Prayer Meeting
Step 1. Be patient
Some people are not used to praying for an hour, others have difficulty praying out loud. It's all a matter of practice. Over time, your group will grow and strengthen.
Step 2. Allow for spontaneity
To ensure the meeting runs smoothly, people need to feel comfortable. Create an environment where they know they are free to pray with all their heart and mind. Among other benefits, this makes more people want to participate.
Step 3. Include children, if applicable
However diffuse a child's attention may be, it can easily be included in a prayer meeting. Often the child will appreciate the opportunity to pray aloud and actively participate, bringing new energy to the meetings.
Step 4. Be grateful
When God answers your prayers, express your gratitude. Be sure to share this wonderful feeling with the group.
Step 5. Spend time with your group after the meeting
You can arrange a snack for those present. This helps to bring the group together and cheer the children up.
Tips
- If running the meeting is difficult, you can start with prayer requests. In other cases, it might be a good idea to do this last, or people will get sidetracked by starting to pray for what they want.
- If you would like to invite your group to evangelize, always hold the prayer meeting first. Never forget the main objective.