tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12009297.post7347141073376206191..comments2023-11-02T02:58:53.594-07:00Comments on From the Pew: Let's Actually Pray During Prayer TimeSteve Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10297044571819912511noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12009297.post-38099808722682625622012-08-18T22:19:48.235-07:002012-08-18T22:19:48.235-07:00As noted, requests take forever and often turn int...As noted, requests take forever and often turn into a social-time in disguise. I've found that more people feel the same way as you, Steve, than the other way around. A couple ideas from our group that worked well:<br /><br />1. Don't plan a big prayer time on a weekly basis (gasp!). Teach and discuss on some weeks, and then have a more dedicated prayer night maybe once a month or so.<br /><br />2. Send prayer requests by group email to each other throughout the week. It motivates folks to actually pray for each other more often. As a bonus, the requests don't need to be detailed in person when you get together to pray.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12009297.post-28502426615852389442012-07-30T09:50:05.653-07:002012-07-30T09:50:05.653-07:00Is there any benefit to praying in groups? It seem...Is there any benefit to praying in groups? It seems more a solo thing.Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07339125862340793733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12009297.post-56786029098027299362012-07-25T11:45:18.623-07:002012-07-25T11:45:18.623-07:00It's interesting you ask that, because actuall...It's interesting you ask that, because actually yes, I write fiction.<br /><br />Glad you like the ideas. I've been part of a small church where worship-leading rotates so we got to experiment a bit. Another thing I like about these methods is you don't have the thing where someone's prayer request gets forgotten, or else the leader has to write them all down just to make sure that doesn't happen (and ends up praying for half of them himself at the end.)Heather Munnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12009297.post-65019802660823625342012-07-24T17:36:46.128-07:002012-07-24T17:36:46.128-07:00Perfect. Thank you, Heather. I now remember your...Perfect. Thank you, Heather. I now remember your ideas tried a couple of times over the years, but they were never repeated the scientifically proven 21 days in a row to form a habit.<br /><br />Are you a writer? I like your run-on sentence to describe my thought process during prayer time of trying to remember everything.Steve Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10297044571819912511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12009297.post-8701137896145754482012-07-24T11:57:54.793-07:002012-07-24T11:57:54.793-07:00From my experience with Christian gatherings where...From my experience with Christian gatherings where prayer time shakes out like what you've described, setting it up in a different format actually really helps.<br /><br />I think the prayer requests are part of the problem. Like you said, they're long. They're one after the other, and pretty soon you're sitting there hoping other people will do the praying because you want to pray for Lisa's niece with cancer but you can't remember if it was Amy or Mary and getting it wrong would be totally offensive and you've worked so hard on trying to remember that that you have absolutely no idea what anyone else asked prayer for.<br /><br />The two formats I've seen used to much better result:<br />- as soon as someone gives a request, a volunteer is asked for to pray about it right then. In a more formal setting, a cool thing is to have the person finish with "Lord, hear our prayer" which everybody says along with them<br />- nobody gives requests at all, there's no "talking about praying", just praying. "Time to pray" and all of us pray for our own requests while the rest join in silent agreement and follow with "Amen." It actually makes a lot more sense, since I am the one who cares most about, say, my husband's health, and so best suited to pray for him. I guess it could seem individualistic, but only on the surface.<br /><br />If you're ever in a position to lead a prayer meeting, I highly recommend one or the other method.Heather Munnnoreply@blogger.com