Prayer is one of the five core values of the local church I serve. We seek to incorporate the holy habit of taking all things to the Lord Jesus in everything we do. The before-meeting prayer and the after-meeting prayers are natural expectations, but what does it look like to make prayer a priority which guides our actions?
Visual Prayer Prompters – At a special event or meeting a takeaway can serve as a visual prompt to pray specifically about something. When we started our church, office hours were held at the local Panera. Small sheep were shared to visually prompt meeting attendants to pray for our church to ‘stay following the Good Shepherd’ wherever that might lead. Listen for His voice over our own. Show us the way to live out Psalm 23. At the Cinco De Mayo Senior Date Night with the Youth, maracas were given to visually remind our senior saints to pray for our youth, especially the ones in attendance sharing their table.
Monthly Prayer Calendar – At the Family Ministry Training last month we passed around a blank calendar for May. Each person in attendance wrote his/her name on a day. When everyone in the room had written their name, any empty spaces were filled in by those in attendance: pastors, tech team, etc. At the end of the meeting, everyone took a picture to use for intercessory prayer each day of the next month. This idea and bunch of others came from Kidmin Leadership Gathering. Thanks, Vanessa Myers! If KLG comes anywhere near you, it’s worth the drive.
Prayer Team – Each Wednesday evening at 6pm, a faithful small group of folks gather to pray aloud in a popup style. Chatting may take five minutes to accommodate new folks and late comers, then heads bow and the prayers begin. There is a core group who were part of a prayer summit which took place in late February 2022, several were praying even prior to that. Their devotion to this prayer time is inspiring. They have guarded and girded this movement of the Holy Spirit. This summer, I’ve invited them to share this prayer time with our youth during youth group. Can’t wait!
Faith Milestones – A specific milestone teaching of prayer happens each year for our 1st & 2nd graders. Multiple ways and tools to pray are taught and practiced with a big person who loves the little person. A paper bag of goodies to take home to practice and use is the grand takeaway along with a certificate. Details can be found here.
Church-wide Prayer Partners – At the Ladies Christmas Mug Exchange, ladies were invited to partner with another to pray for themselves and this new church movement. Almost 70 women and men have been praying and serving together since January. This Prayer Partner season finishes at the end of June. Weekly prayer prompts are emailed by a beautiful lay person to help us with specific prayer language as we pray for our church. Details can be found here.
The gift of prayer is a powerful tool. I’ve seen the miracles, the relationships healed, the physical healings, and the courageous boldness that can only come from faithful prayer. In the words of Rev. Dr. Carolyn Moore, speaking at the North Georgia Global Methodist Church Annual Conference last week, “We’re walking miracles!”
“What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to Him?” Deuteronomy 4:7
DeDeBullReilly 
I really like how your church makes prayer fun and easy to understand! Those visual reminders like the sheep and maracas are great ways to keep prayer in our thoughts. Having a monthly prayer schedule and prayer buddies helps everyone connect while growing spiritually. It’s especially wonderful how you teach kids to pray during important life moments. Thanks for sharing these practical ideas that any church could use. It’s so inspiring to hear about the healing and miracles you’ve seen through prayer!
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. Finding opportunities to incorporate prayer as a holy habit for families ‘as they go’ about life is one of my favorite things to do. May we, the local church, be found faithful.