Encouraging Individuals to Pray
There are a number of barriers to
individuals praying effectively.
The first is a feeling of inadequacy, that people are not such good Christians as so and
so, and that God can't possibly be interested in them. Lack of knowledge of how to pray is
a second barrier. Another barrier is not knowing what to pray for, limiting prayers to
petitions for those in need. We probably need to recognise that it is often not just new
Christians who need help, but many who have been Christians for a while may be struggling
with their prayer lives, or have given up on them altogether. |
One helpful ways of encouraging people to pray
is for them to spend time praying with one or two others in a prayer triplet or some
similar group. This can allow barriers to be broken down as people experience others
praising, thanking, interceding, listening etc and over time feel comfortable joining in
themselves. As the prayer life of the prayer triplet develops, then the individual prayer
lives of the participants is likely to blossom as well. There is nothing like answered
prayer to encourage further prayer.
As the prayer triplet develops, so relationships within the group will grow, and breaking
the group up can be a daunting prospect. Thus it can be helpful to set expectations of a
limited group life as the group forms. This provides a way of expanding the number of
people in prayer triplets. A strategy of prayer triplets reforming each year, with two
people from a previous triplet and a newcomer can enable great growth in the prayer
resources of a church. A church which started with eight committed pray-ers meeting with
four newcomers to form four triplets, can after five years expand to form thirty triplets
in year 6. |
|
Ideas on Encouraging Corporate Prayer
|
