Strategies for cultivating a culture of prayer in your church

Do you think your church prays together enough? Is there a need for greater confidence or depth in your shared prayer life? In this blog, Andy Peck reflects on the importance of praying together as a church and offers practical insights for nurturing Christ-centred group prayer.

I was 18 years of age and about to attend university when I came across the book, Starting as a Student by David Jackman, published by IVP. Nervous about leaving the cloistered environment of the Isle of Wight to live on the mainland for the first time and leaving the church where I had grown up and come to faith, I figured I could use some advice on keeping faith central in my studies. I was later to get to know the author personally when serving a church in Southampton where he was also a pastor.

Many chapters of wisdom included the words to the effect of: ‘if you attend nothing else in the CU make sure you attend the prayer meeting’. I resolved so to do, discovering that the College I attended (Wye College near Ashford in Kent) had its own tiny chapel in the corner of one of the Oxbridge style quads that housed prayer meetings for one hour twice a week on Mondays and Fridays 5.30 to 6.30.

It wasn’t quite what I had in mind and on a cold winter’s day, putting down books to attend with a few zealous souls felt almost monastic.

Fast forward six months and I was asked to be on the CU committee as Prayer Secretary. Somewhat astonished I asked, ‘why me?’, and was told: ‘well, you pray!’

So began a fascination with the mystery of prayer. It’s commanded and vital to the life of the church. And when we get down to it, we wonder why we didn’t do it sooner and for longer. But how might we cultivate a culture of prayer in church?

Understand what prayer is

Dallas Willard’s definition of prayer is: ‘conversation with God about our life together’. If that life is not prominent to us, then it’s no surprise if we don’t spend much time talking with him. Prayer can be the silent words of the hear as we face a problem: God is wonderfully gracious, but can be so much more. The presenting problem in a church may be ‘prayerlessness’ but the real issue lies with us truly believing God cares about our day. Do we know deep within us of the love of God, his commitment to us and concern for our world? Prayer ultimately flows from our beliefs (or doubts) about God.

Know prayer’s variety

OK so there were times in the chapel which were pretty tough, and for all our zeal there wasn’t much variety. No one led the time, occasionally we were aware of something coming up and there were times when the hour dragged.

If your last prayer meeting was like a wisdom tooth extraction it’s no surprise that you might find an alternative to attending one. But a well led corporate prayer time involving music, worship, visual aids and a variety of kinds of prayer can make the time a delight. Just type ‘how to make Christian prayer times interesting’ in google and you will be spoilt for choice.

Solo or together?

You are probably aware that introverts derive energy largely from the inner world and extroverts from the outer one and so style of prayer can be a big factor. Both preferences benefit from praying on their own and with others, but if only one option is pushed, it wouldn’t be surprising if you found that ‘prayer wasn’t working’ when in fact, you just need to up your time with others, or time alone depending on your preference. Why not look for a prayer partner or prayer triplet? You can combine with a walk or a coffee. If you prefer prayer solo, find a devotional that will guide you. Sometimes a church assumes its members knows all this, when a few minutes during a service rehearsing the very many options and inviting member to team up is all that’s needed for prayer to become turbo charged.

Prayer Chain anyone?

It can be great to have dedicated pray-ers and a well-run and confidential means of disseminating information helps remind people that ‘without God we can do nothing’.

That said, don’t be fooled into thinking the Almighty is somehow moved to action because we have somehow mustered another person to pray. That’s a pagan view of prayer. We participate in numbers because it’s always a joy to pray for one another and share in the journey, not to twist God’s arm.

Answered prayer 

OK, so of course we all love to hear the way in which God has graciously answered us, from the trivial to the life changing. Everyone’s faith rises and interrupts any thoughts that God seems to have gone on a very long holiday. But spotting what God is doing can be more of an art than a science. You offer your very best prayer. It seems like something likely to be in the will of God. Things don’t improve. They even get worse. Atheists say, ‘well I told you so’ and aren’t impressed by the Christian saying, ‘God knows best’. But of course, he really does. His timing is perfect. He knows what to grant and when to grant it. Your prayer matters. Yes, it’s a mystery how our human and often mixed motive requests move the Almighty even as he is at work bringing his glory. So don’t give up. 

Developing a culture of prayer is to encourage everyone to realise what we know in our sane moments. The Christian life is impossible, and we cannot function as a church at all, without God. How good that he has given us a means whereby we invited his involvement. It’s time to live in the benefit of it! 

Who do you need to talk to in your church about improving the prayer life? 

What resources will you need. 

Start small and see what God does! 

Author Bio:

Andy Peck is sub-editor at Preach magazine.