They all joined together constantly in prayer. Acts 1:14
“Together” - Two or more things unite to form a single whole; In agreement or harmony
“Together” - Two or more things unite to form a single whole; In agreement or harmony
There are several issues that typically keep us from “praying together” as Christians:
Set Prayers – Because Catholics typically pray set prayers like the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be, many Catholics are not comfortable with praying spontaneously. While praying set prayers does allow the group to pray together, people do not have an opportunity to address specific concerns about their families, their church and their community.
Long Prayers – On the other hand, Protestants may be so comfortable praying spontaneously, they may pray at length about a number of different topics, with each person praying separately about different topics until everyone has had a turn.
Prayer Requests - In Bible Studies and other small groups, the leader typically asks the group for prayer requests. This is followed by an extended period of time while group members talk about their problems or the problems and challenges their family members and friends are experiencing. Then the leader says, “Will someone please pray for these requests?” The amount of time actually spent in prayer is minimal; especially in relation to the amount of time spend talking about people's problems.
While there is nothing wrong with these approaches to prayer, they hardly fit the definition of “together” meaning to unite in agreement or harmony to form a single whole, and people do not typically show their trust in God by thanking and praising Him for their situation.
Linked Prayer
Linked prayer helps achieve the goal of forming a single whole in agreement and harmony:
- Communicate prayer requests by email so group members can pray for each other during the week.
- Sit in silent meditation until someone feels led to pray about a particular topic.
- That person prays a short prayer (less than 30 seconds) to open that prayer topic.
- Others add their thoughts, praises and requests to that prayer.
- Each person tries to keep their prayer to less than 30 seconds on the current prayer topic.
- Don’t hurry--silence is ok, even for a long time (listen for God!).
I have found this can lead to an amazing experience of literally being “lost in prayer.” On a few occasions, I was so taken up into the prayer we were all praying together that when we were done, I had no idea where I was and had to take a moment to orient myself.
Assignment
1. Discuss initiating a system to distribute personal prayer requests to the group.
2. The next time you pray as a group, try using linked prayer.
Scripture Memory Verse
When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matt 6:7-8