What Message Will We Send Him?

Last Wednesday evening we had our monthly church prayer time. I had some questions I wanted us to discuss before we prayed because I have been very concerned about the decline in attendance at our monthly meeting. I put out word in advance to those who have fairly regularly attended over the past two or three years and asked them to be present so we could have a heart to heart talk about prayer.

Someone once said that in the typical church, Sunday morning attendance shows how popular the preacher is, and midweek prayer shows how popular God is. That’s what has been worrying me!

I will record here what some of my questions were and then some of the comments as we talked. The comments were very good and helpful. I heard an echoing of the same concerns and also at the heart of it all, a desire to pray better, to pray well as a church.

Is corporate prayer even necessary?

·         Absolutely – it’s the foundation of the church and its future.

·         It’s important for us to hear each other pray. We can hear each other’s hearts as we express ourselves in God’s presence. It builds faith.

·         It’s a deeper form of fellowship than chatting in the hallway after church. We need to hear each other pray. It builds unity. You meet people from the other service.

·         We sing corporately, break bread and listen to teaching corporately...therefore we should also pray corporately.

·         Prayer in small groups certainly has an important place too.

·         Maybe we shouldn’t call it a “corporate” prayer time but rather a “family” prayer time. More personal and intimate.

Am I too hung up on numbers?

·         Probably, but in another way it sure would be encouraging and powerful to see the auditorium full of people gathered just to pray.

How to beat the modern “busy people” problem?

·         Mixed up priorities in some cases.

·         We mostly do what we deem to be important.

·         Much of our busyness is church related. But some of it is also self induced. Something has to give.

·         “Busy” is driven by what people value....change doesn’t happen until we see something to be a waste of time and begin to value something else more.

·         Prayer is a discipline and we need to fight against our fleshly desires to avoid it.

Should we try a different approach such as multiple prayer sites?

·         I like home based prayer; it feels more intimate and less intimidating.

·         Smaller settings are easier for some to participate in.

Is there any way to see more of our young adults come?

·         Get some of them leading and promoting.

·         We need to personally invite specific individuals, use our influence, and bring them along. Of course more than one would be good so they have peers present.

·         Some teaching would also be helpful for them.

·         Put them in charge of certain prayer meetings.

Would a different night (or timeslot) of the week be better?

·         Maybe an early morning time slot would be better for some.

·         Probably not. No night is perfect.

How can the prayer times be led better?  

·         Form a “creative prayer leading team.”

·         Designate certain people before the prayer meeting to come prepared to lead out in prayer passionately in order to lead the way and fire up others.

Do we need to include a time of worship in our prayer time and make it a more well rounded service than it is now?

·         Maybe quarterly.

·         No, we’re here to pray. So let’s get to it.

·         Worship would help direct our thoughts and hearts to God and stir us to pray. Prayer and worship should go hand in hand.

·        

Are there means we need to use to attract people to prayer other than just assume they will come because they know they should?

·         Bring a friend – seriously!

·         Talk it up during the rest of the month.

·         People are motivated when they hear other Christians pray passionately.

·         We need teaching on prayer – teach how they prayed in Acts; the importance, power and techniques of prayer.

·         Need some strong teaching on the scriptural responsibilities we have to pray for our church and our leaders.

·         Corporate prayer is a privilege not an obligation.

·         Idea of a designated prayer room on site for 24/7 drop in prayer. Difficult to come by at our facility here at Marden.

·         Perhaps a prayer week or prayer night to stretch us.

·         Pray more in every service, especially in the Sunday morning service.

·         Send regular reminder emails before the prayer meeting; some people simply forget.

·         All leaders (Leadership Board, pastors, ministry leaders) should consider it mandatory to be present. We need to hear our leaders pray and see them set the example. But we do recognize the problem that they are already the busiest people in the church. It’s a sacrifice.

·         Ask more often for impromptu prayers to be offered during the church service. Makes prayer more natural and visible and important to all.

·         Send out an email of the prayer request agenda in advance to those who want it. Even if they can’t come, they could then still pray.

·         Read the book – “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” – about a church in New York which was about to close its doors but decided to make the prayer meeting the most important meeting of the week.

Some say, this problem is everywhere in every church.

So what?? Shall we all sink to the lowest common denominator together? For me, God is always watching us. He works where there’s faith (read the gospels! Read Acts! Read up on where the church is growing fastest in the world today!). A vibrant and well attended prayer meeting says there is faith and hunger here. A standing room only prayer meeting sends God a message – a message He joyfully receives! An anorexic prayer meeting sends a message too. What message will we send Him this year?

John