What seems to be common to every revival and season of Gospel renewal? People praying. God moves a few people to begin praying, and then he powerfully answers them. Consider Charles Spurgeon, one of the most influential preachers in church history, when asked about the secret to his success, he reportedly said, “My people pray for me.” God uses prayers. God uses prayer meetings.
At Twin Rivers, we meet for prayer every Saturday at each of our campuses to pray over our weekend services, leaders and our city. We believe prayer is the best gift we can give anyone. We also have a guest prayer card for them to fill out so we can know how to pray for them and gives us a chance to follow up and start them on a journey of becoming apart of the Twin Rivers family.
Here are some important considerations for a prayer meeting:
1. Pray
That’s right, pray yourself and then pray that people would come. You can’t expect people to be committed to something that you aren’t committed to. Also, you may not have something because you are not asking for it (James 4.2).
2. Plan
Take some time before the meeting to think about what you are going to say to encourage the people who come. Don’t just attend the meeting, but lead it. Plan to make it a prayer meeting.
3. Read the Bible
After we pray, we read the Bible together. The chosen Scripture serves to provide a framework for our praying. We use that passage as a pallet to paint our prayers before God. (This is especially helpful as it shows people how to integrate Bible reading into prayer, while also encouraging Bible reading itself.)
4. Promote It
We talk about the prayer group all the time. We are always inviting people to join us, bragging about how God answered prayer, and referencing it in casual conversation. When leaders are behind something, it becomes more visible. If you believe in the prayer meeting, then act like it: Promote it! Also, we have found that the prayer meeting is a perfect entry point for new people to the church. When someone asks how they can get involved, we’ll invite them to come and pray with us on Tuesday mornings. In turn, they get to meet other people and see the heartbeat of the church.
5. Set the Tone
Leaders must labor to set the right tone.
If you want to establish a culture of discipleship, then prayer is a must. You must pray for it to happen, but you must also pray to sustain and support it. People learn to pray by praying.
It’s time to make some history; it’s time to write the story.
