If we’re all honest about it, praying with a group of people can people very weird. Someone always prays the thing you were waiting to pray for. There’s always those unbearable moments of awkward silence when noone knows what’s next. Inevitably two people will start praying at the same time and then they’ll both spend the next 5minutes saying “no, you go….no, you go.” It’s just weird.

So here are a few tips I’ve learned through my experiences to help make that time more effective (and bearable):

(1) Choose someone to open and close the prayer time.

This is so huge. It gets the time going without the dreadful moment where noone has enough courage to pray first. And it alleviates the pressure of not knowing how and when the praying is supposed to stop. Everyone knows to keep praying until “Jack” closes it out.

(2) Pray one topic at a time (conversational style).

How would this conversation sound? “Hey, did you see the basketball game last night?” “I bought some amazing furniture this weekend.” “My back hurts.” That’s soooo random and the conversation would never deepen and progress because it’s bouncing from topic to topic. That’s how most corporate prayer times are. No focus, just random things blurted out. Instead, choose a specific prayer topic/need and have everyone focus their prayers on that, then move to the next one. That allows for a cumulative effect in prayer, where all the prayers build on each other and the Lord can give wisdom even in the process of praying.

(3) Don’t be afraid to pray again!

There’s some unspoken rule that each person is only allowed to pray once. You might pray and then a few minutes later God may put something else on your heart to pray for, but you’ve already “had your turn” so you stay quiet. WHY?! Pray again! Yes, sometimes it’s rude to go back for seconds, but not in prayer!

(4) Avoid praying for too long.

There’s limited time for a prayer gathering, so don’t monopolize that time by praying for too long. We’ve all been there. Someone up front says “I’ll give you a few minutes to pray together and then I’ll end the time by closing it out.” Five minutes later, the first person is STILL praying and as soon as you finally get to chime in, the prayer time is over (and you’re left trying to figure out “Should I still finish my prayer or just stop?”)

[Note: This is in reference to INDIVIDUALS being insensitive to the fact that others also want to participate in prayer. This is not to say that corporate prayer times should be short.]

(5) Don’t be afraid to break the connection.

When prayer starts we feel like there’s this formal connection to God that shouldn’t be broken until the prayer time is over. So, for example, you’re supposed to be praying for Joe but as soon as you start praying for him you realize you don’t remember his name!!! Ahh you’ve been there. So you just start praying in very vague terms: “Lord, thank you for my brother.” Break the connection!!! Just stop and ask him what his name is and then keep praying. That’s MUCH better than not being able to pray wholeheartedly and specifically because you’re trying to figure out how to keep it general!

(6) Let Scripture inform your praying.

As verses come to mind in your corporate prayer times, either read them aloud or simply use them to guide what you pray for. God has obligated Himself to respond to His Word and when we pray his Word, He uses it to shape our desires and give us wisdom for how to pray according to His will.

Those are just a few things I’ve learned that make praying with others less dreadful and more effective.