I hate taking prayer requests.
Don’t get me wrong, I love praying at the end of a meeting or a Bible Study. What I can’t stand is how the prayer AFTER the prayer requests is a reciting everything we just said. Sometimes verbatim.
The next time you take prayer requests, notice the way people sigh and how they shift in their chairs when you start the actual praying. Like soldiers “standing at attention”, the body language in the room is telling you they’re digging deep for the mental strain it takes to hear everything they just heard one more time. Not to mention that we’re acting like God wasn’t there the entire time we were talking about what we need from him.
A BETTER WAY
Out of frustration, I decided to try something different this week at our Team Meeting. When I told people it was time for prayer requests, I asked them to start their prayer request by saying “prayers for” or “prayers that”. A moment later, our Finance Director said, “Prayers for my sister with her surgery, that God would heal her quickly and that this situation would draw her closer to Jesus.”
When she finished I said, “Great. Now say ‘In Jesus’ name.'”
She looked at me a bit puzzled, but complied, “In Jesus’ name.”
Then I told the room, “Now, everyone else say ‘amen’.” Everyone smiled and said “amen” and immediately understood what we were doing. Instead of taking prayer requests, we were actually praying.
Instead of taking prayer requests, we were actually praying. Share on: Twitter
The room wasted no time continuing the experiment. Our Youth Director went next, “Prayers that our youth would invite their friends…” and on and on we went. And after every prayer request, we ended with the phrase “in Jesus’ name” and a chorus of “amen”.
The shift in our meeting was palpable. The prayer was fun. Energetic. Interactive. We were praying in a conversational way, with all the interruptions and interplay you experience in any other conversation between people. It was an exercise that not only saved time, but opened our eyes to how natural and easygoing prayer could be.
TURNING PRAYER REQUESTS INTO PRAYER
At your next meeting or Bible Study or Small Group, turn your prayer requests into prayer by adding the phrase “in Jesus’ name” at the end of each request and see what happens. You’ll see smiles. You’ll see people sitting comfortably. They’ll be praying with their eyes open. And you’ll see a room realize how approachable our Heavenly Father really is.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:13
