Revitalize Your Church

As a pastor, I was often called upon to say prayers several times a day. My prayers, as Adolph Bedsole (1964)  noted in Parson to Parson , can be summarized by the following categories: 1.  Ritualistic Praying: Saying prayers as a part of the pastoral function.  Prayers in worship services and other ministry settings. 2.   Routine Praying:  Prayers for meals; the prayers spoken as a regular pattern of life. 3.  Official Praying:  Prayers at civic functions such as graduations, house blessings and ski races. 4.  Emergency Praying:  At times of crisis and deep need -- an urgent calling upon the Lord. 5.  Praying on the Run:  Maintaining a spirit of prayer as you navigate the day's events and circumstances. 6.  Praying in the Closet (Praying Deep):   Carving out extended time with the Lord to drink deeply from the spiritual well. All pastors engage in the first four kinds of praying. Many acti...

If you are given the task to lead the congregation in prayer on Sunday morning, I encourage you to consider the following: 1) You are the representative of the people  -- bringing their prayers and the concerns of their hearts before the Father. It is not just your own personal prayer -- so instead if saying, "God, I love you so much" say, "God, we are here to tell you how much we love you." 2) Be sure you don't pray the same phrases every time.  Change it up. If you don't prepare and think about the prayer, you will automatically resort to old familiar cliches -- which wear out quickly in public usage. 3) Say "thank you" to God early in the prayer.  "O Lord, we thank you today for providing strength, peace, and contentment for each moment. . ." 4) Don't preach at the congregation through the prayer.  Don't yell. God is not hard of hearing.  5) If you use an ancient or other written prayer -- let it stand alone.  ...