Praying

Rev. Joshua Patty

Regional Minister and President

Is your church a praying church?

This isn't mean to be a "gotcha" question. I imagine that most ministers and church leaders would say yes. I'm confident that we pray multiple times in worship. We pray before congregational meals and during church meetings and classes.

Praying is a foundational act of faith. We all should be praying multiple times a day, as we grow into Paul's admonition to "pray without ceasing." However, I worry that we don't always highlight prayer in our ministry or see it as an opportunity to expand our ministry.

Congregational prayer groups seem to be less common now than a few years ago. Prayer lists are still shared, but they tend to be much more concise to honor privacy.

What other types of prayer activities are we encouraging or developing? How are we inviting people in congregations to deepen and enrich their prayer life?

Here are a couple of things I've tried in congregations. One Lent and Eastertide, we had a prayer campaign. We followed the model of a fundraising campaign (complete with a church steeple that we filled up as we counted prayers). We had a promotional pamphlet inviting people to pray daily for our ministry and published prayer prompts in bulletins and newsletters. People submitted their prayer reports by email or card and we tallied them. Over a period of months, we could count and celebrate thousands of prayers. (And I think these prayers invigorated our ministry in powerful ways.)

Another short term idea. During Covid, we had different church members record 2-3 minute prayers. One was shared online each night for the summer. This is an easy and interactive project for a season, which offers a tangible piece of ministry each day of the week.

These are just a couple of ways that you might focus on prayer in your ministry for a few weeks. There are many others.

And my thinking on this is shaping my ministry now. For years, our region has published a prayer list of congregations, ministers, and ministries. (Here's the 2024 edition.) This year, I'm committing to taking a few minutes the first Thursday of each month to pray live (on YouTube and shared on Facebook). My hope is that folks from around our region will join me (live or later) in prayer. Praying Together... as Disciples Together.