Eleven Weeks of Prayer
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them Jesus
When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there. -Jesus, Message translation Matthew 18:20
June 1-12 – organization of prayer triplets
Find one or two people with whom you will commit to pray on a regular basis
Fill out commitment sheet and return to office
Set up your first meeting date and time
Week of June 13th –
Check church website for theme scripture for the week
(if you do not have computer capabilities, please let us know and we will send a post card)
Church ministries to include in prayer this week:
Prayers and Squares; Diaconate; website ministry
Week of June 20th –
Look for theme scripture for the week
Church ministries to include in prayer this week:
Worship Committee; Adult Fellowship; Christian Fellowship
Week of June 27th –
Look for theme scripture for the week
Church ministries to include in prayer:
Endowment committee, Financial Stewards, Church council and our church President, Treasurer and Financial Secretaries
Week of July 4th –
Look for theme scripture
Church ministries to include in prayer:
Harvest Table, Mission Board
Week of July 11th –
Look for theme scripture
Church ministries to include in prayer:
Christian Education, Youth Ministries and Youth
Week of July 18th –
Look for theme scripture
Church ministries to include in prayer:
Music ministry, church musicians, choir,
bell choir, Visual Arts ministry and Internship
Week of July 25th
Look for theme scripture
Church ministries to include in prayer:
Property Stewards, Volunteer ministries,
Social committee
Week of August 1st –
Look for theme scripture
Church ministries to include in prayer:
Caring ministries (under diaconate);
prayer ministries (Prayer chain, prayer triplets)
Week of August 8th –
Look for theme scripture
Church ministries to include in prayer:
Wedding ministry; pre-marital ministry;
special services ministry; funeral ministry
Week of August 15th –
Look for theme scripture
Ministries to include in prayer:
Worship ministry; liturgists; ushers; Vacation Bible School (VBS)
Week of August 22nd –
Look for theme scripture
Ministries to include in prayer
New Sunday School Year; Confirmation class; Sunday Night Youth Things
How to pray for the ministries of the church:
1. Find out information about them: who’s involved, what they do, when they meet.
2. Thank God for the work and the staff and volunteers who make the work happen. Pray with thanksgiving for the gifts they give to our church.
3. This isn’t a time to try and tell God what people should do, or put extra burdens on volunteers who already give a lot. Also refrain from judging and criticizing and let God handle those aspects of our church life. If we see a need where something could be better, pray that God would show us how to be better or do it better and expect that God will help us find the right ways. Even good things could be prayed about, hoping God would help them grow even better.
4. You might also find it appropriate to write a note of appreciation to those who are involved in the ministry and let them know that you prayed for them.
5. You may sense God asking you to be involved in new and different ways as you pray for the church’s ministries. Follow those internal promptings. It’s probably a sign that you are already gifted in that area to serve.
6. Watch the unexpected ways in which God will turn these prayers into fruit in our church.
7. When you catch a ministry that was left out of the lists, please include it in your prayers and let Pastor Karen know so that she can share that with other prayer triplets. Thank you!
Church Ministries
Prayer Triplets
Different Ways to pray together
As an act of worship to begin a prayer time, consider the following things:
- Light a special candle and take a moment to reflect upon the promised Counselor/Holy Spirit Jesus sent after his resurrection.
- Read the week’s theme scripture from one or more translations. www.biblegateway.org offers easy access to different translations.
- Play a favorite piece of music and focus on God
Ways to pray about needs and requests:
- Take time to share requests in a specific area, e.g. my personal needs this week
- Give each other a turn
- Have a journal where you record the request and write a few words that come to your heart about that request
o i.e. someone asks for prayers regarding finances. You may write down words like God’s steadfast love; God provides; financial stability; ‘do not be afraid’; trusting in God, etc.
- Using some of the thoughts written down, take some time to either pray silently or pray aloud about the collected personal requests of the triplet. (Try not to get into the habit of always one way or another)
- Keep it within a specific timeframe so that you are able to cover the other areas of praying.
- Sometimes a scripture will come to mind and feel free to include that in the prayer.
Ways to Pray Together
½ -hour formats
-briefly checking in with one another and sharing joys and needs (3 min)
-sharing a bible verse provided by Pastor Karen or pick one of your own (3 min.)
-worship by listening to a CD of a favorite praise song or lighting a candle or just silently sitting before God as you humbly confess your dependence on God (3 min)
-pray for personal renewal and for any personal needs (4 min)
-pray for people we know and their needs (4 min)
-pray for our church and a couple specific ministries (4 min)
-pray for our missionary family and spiritual leaders (4 min)
-pray for big needs which are important to the three people in the group (4 min)
-conclude with reading a hymn together, or singing a hymn together or reading together another passage of scripture. (3 min)
You can add or take away items. The most important thing is that you take time to get together.
It’s important to honor the time commitment, and not to routinely
go over the time limit if you want to be successful in the long term.
It’s important to keep the commitment and you will find that all kinds of things will crop up to try and interfere with your commitment. Keep your word, and if it is impossible for a good reason, find another ½ hour to change to.
Use the Lord’s Prayer and break it into pieces where your reflect on the following things:
- Our Father, who art in heaven, holy is your name – God’s holiness in our lives
- Thy Kingdom come and thy will be done – Giving control over to God in our lives
- On earth as it is in heaven – give God control over bigger things
- Give us this day our daily bread – how God has and will provide for our needs
- Forgive us our debts – What do we need to confess before God and accept responsibility for?
- As we forgive our debtors – what do we need to let go of and forgive others for?
- Lead us not into temptation – what are our weaknesses and how God can help
- Deliver us from evil – protection for ourselves and those we love
- For thine is the kingdom, power and glory forever – God’s total reign in our life and the week’s focus ministries for prayer (see Twelve Weeks of Prayer)
- Take 3 minutes for each part or adjust as needed
- Share with Pastor Karen your own formats
How to Pray
Different Ways to Experience Prayer
Many people get nervous about prayer because they do not want to talk or pray out loud, in front of someone else. Here are some suggestions that you may try that may facilitate the experience of prayer. Please remember there is never any bad prayer.
KEEPING A PRAYER JOURNAL
Find a notebook that you can designate only for prayer. It can be any size notebook. Write down whatever comes to your mind and heart. You can imagine you are writing a letter to God about what is going on in your life; what joys there are and what concerns you have. A writing exercise could follow the prompts of the acronym ACTS. A –Adoration. Thank God for being the creator of the universe and the author of your life. C – Confess. As you review your actions recently, what kinds of things do you think were done apart from God? Is there anything you want to change? T – Thanksgiving. Tell God what is making you happy and what in your life and God’s creation feel like a blessing right now. It can be as small as the sound of a bird, or a couple minutes to yourself. What are you thankful for in the relationships in your life. Even if everything is not as you would like, what are the things that bring you joy. S – Supplication. Ask God for anything, anything at all. Ask yourself what you think you really need in your life and then ask God.
When you have finished writing these down, feel free to share with your small group any of it – only if you want to. If you decide to do this on a weekly basis, include some written reflection on whether or not you’ve seen God answer any of your prayers and how. Writing it down and keeping
track of prayers proves God’s faithfulness to us and shows us that God really does care about us.
USING SCRIPTURE
Scripture is a living word for us. Pick a psalm, maybe pick the one that corresponds with the date – on June 9th, pick the 9th psalm. Out of its 20 verses maybe your mind fixes up this one:
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Pick out the word, “refuge” or “stronghold” and write down why God has been a refuge for you or something strong to hold on to in trouble. Think of times in the past where God has been those things for you and share them with your group. God can use our experiences to help someone else out.
Each week during the summer there will be a scripture verse to dwell upon. Memorize it and say it as a prayer. Say it ever day and see how the verse becomes a companion to you and continues to teach you. Say the verse together in the group.
Pick a Psalm and take turn reading the verses. Read them slowly, taking in each word. Share what words mean the most to you on that day.
PICK A GROUP PRAYER
Certainly the Lord’s Prayer is a prayer your group can share together. When my kids were younger, Derek picked the last stanzas of a hymn verse from “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and that has become our family meal prayer:
“O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.”
Here’s another prayer I say every morning: “Lord God, Almighty and Everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day. Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. And in all I do, guide me to the fulfilling of your purpose through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.” (From the Divine Hours)
Maybe you have found a special prayer of your own. Share it with your group.
HYMNS
Don’t let this one scare you – hymns don’t always have to be sung. Read a hymn as a prayer and enjoy the beautiful poetry put to music. We sometimes miss the prayerful words of hymns when we sing – worrying more about the music than about the message. Get a copy of the hymnal and speak a hymn together.
JUST BE
The Psalmist writes: “Be still and know that I am God.” Sometimes just being together, just being still, just being is prayer enough. God is just thrilled that you are there with him. ‘Close your eyes and feel the love of God sweeping over you, reaching out to you. Realize only He can feel the emptiness inside of you.'
