By Levi Warren
Optional Kids Practice
Tonight is about communal prayer, and we believe that kids are an important part of our Communities! Invite the kids in your group to be with the adults for a few minutes. Once they seem ready to engage, ask if any of them have something they would like prayer for (it can be anything, big or small).
Now, tell the kids that they are going to all pray out loud, together at the same time, and have them repeat after an adult as they read this simple prayer prompt:
God,
We pray for (name of child)
We ask that you answer their prayer (add simple details as appropriate)
We know that we are your children
And that you hear us when we pray to you
Thank you for hearing us, we love you!
Amen
(Feel free to repeat this practice for any child who wants prayer)
Begin with prayer
Gather together as a Community in a comfortable setting. Spend a moment in silence, in the presence of Jesus and each other. Have one person read 1 John 5v14-15 over the group and then pray to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
Debrief the most recent teaching and practice
- What did you take away from the teaching, and what has God been doing in your life this past week because of it?
- What was your experience like practicing contemplative prayer? How did it feel simply sitting in the presence of God with no agenda?
Read this overview
Communal prayer is a broad category and can take many forms. Because of that, it’s something that people may practice a lot more than they realize! It could look like the simple time of sharing prayer requests and taking turns praying for one another in a group setting, or those moments in worship where everyone lifts their voices at the same time to read a Scripture passage or liturgy together.
Communal prayer can be when everyone prays out loud, at the same time in the same place, for a particular purpose, or it can be when people in different spaces join their hearts in unity to bring a particular need before Jesus.
And that’s the big point here – unity. Communal prayer can be likened to times of corporate worship, where everyone lifts their voices in unity to sing the same song together. We come together in agreement and declare that God alone is worthy of praise, and in doing so we also have an opportunity to minister to those in the group around us.
The way we worship is a tangible representation of the goodness of God to the person standing next to us. The same can be true of communal prayer. Knowing that others in the group are meeting with God can embolden us to come before his throne of grace with confidence (Heb. 4v16).
Discuss the following prompts
- If you’ve ever participated in a time of group prayer that has felt particularly meaningful to you, describe what that was like. Why do you think it felt so impactful?
- What has been your experience with all together, out loud communal prayer? Does that feel natural and easy for you, or does it feel more awkward?
- Jesus said in Matthew 18v19-20, “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” How does that Scripture sit with you, and how do you think it relates to communal prayer?
Practicing right now
While communal prayer can take many forms, it can also be helpful to practice it by focusing on one style. If your Community has time tonight, spend some time sharing prayer requests. When one person shares, have the whole group pray, all together and out loud at the same time, for that person’s request. This doesn’t have to last long, perhaps just 20-30 seconds. Designate one person to clearly end the time by saying, “Jesus, thank you for hearing our prayers. We love you, amen.”
Do this for anyone who has requested, and when your time is over, debrief together how it felt to pray in this way. What worked? What felt difficult?
Practicing this week
During the week, focus on the idea of unity in communal prayer, even when you are all in separate places. Pick a specific time when, each day, everyone will pause for a few moments (1-3 minutes) to pray for the same thing. These could be prayer requests that everyone in the Community has shared, for other needs in the church, for broader ideas, or anything else you can think of.
Make sure that it is a time that generally works for everyone in the group, and clearly say what you will all be praying for. Set an alarm on your phone or watch to go off at that specific time each day this week, so that you are reminded to pray.
For example, you may pick 2:00 PM each day and say you’ll be praying for everyone in the church to experience God’s love in a new and impactful way.
Or you might pick 8:00 AM and agree to spend a few minutes praying for each request that was shared in your Community.
Whatever time and prayer request you choose, remember that you are praying alongside all the people in your Community, and ask God to help you feel unified in those moments.
Be prepared to share with your Community next week what the experience was like.
Close in prayer
In the spirit of communal prayer, end by having everyone read this prayer from Ephesians 3v14-21 out loud at the same time:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.