Session Extras

Year 2

Prayer: Session 5
Ways of Praying

Below are some great links for further study and discussion. Check out the book suggestions. We've also included additional resources for leaders.

Digging Deeper:

• In the article “Kavanah—Praying with Intention,” Lois Tverberg encourages us to give our best in our prayers.
• Bruce Okkemaencourages us to start a better prayer life by asking God specifically for help in the article “Time to Pray.”
• In the article “Exploring a Life of Prayer,” Jane E. Vennard emphasizes that prayer should be at the center of our life. Life with only a small section devoted to exploring prayer is quite different from putting prayer at the center of life.
• John Piper discusses what it means to “Be Devoted to Prayer.”
• The article “Evaluate Your Church: Is Your Church a Praying Church?” discusses how prayer needs to be the focus of our church life.
• Praying the same prayers as Christians of other times and places can be a very healthy thing. Read more in the article “Uncovering the Blessing of Fixed-Hour Prayer” by Joan Huyser-Honing.
• Read the prayer by John Piper in the article “A Prayer for Our Church.” Write your own prayer using this format to fit your congregation.
• Check out “Prayer” from Web Bible Encyclopedia. Scroll down to the part that gives the answers to prayer and how prayer was used in the Bible.
• Many prayer books and websites are available; here are just a few:
• The Worship Sourcebook includes many prayers for congregational worship that can be used as personal prayers as well.
• A Book of Reformed Prayers by Howard J. Rice. See a review of this book in an article by Emily Brink in Reformed Worship.
• The Book of Common Prayer is available online. Read more about this book’s history in the article “The Uncommon Book of Common Prayer: Still a best-seller after 450 years” by Paul Detterman.
• The Christian Reformed Church of North America post requests for prayer support.
• The website Sacred Space is an interactive prayer site guiding the reader through a 10-minute session of prayer.
• Transformation Prayer Guide by Steve Loopstra and Carol Madison is a 52-week prayer guide to invite Jesus to transform your life. It also includes prayer suggestions for each day of the week.
• Learn more about different kinds of prayer:
• Read a personal account of prayer by Phil Reinders in the article “Eight Days of Silence.”
• Interested in praying for your neighborhood? Case Van Kampen takes us on the journey his church took in the article “Taking It to the Streets.” Don’t miss the worship service from Eastern Avenue CRC at the bottom of this web page.
• N.T. Wright, the archbishop of Durham, England, writes about three types of prayers in the blog post “Different Kinds of Prayer.”
• Learn more about Lectio Divina, a way to pray the Scriptures. Eugene H. Peterson also discusses Lectio Divina in Eat This Book.
• Deb Rienstra addresses the kinds of prayer in the chapter “Seeking the Heart of God: Prayer” in the book So Much More.
• Check out the “Tips for Group Prayer” from Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City.
• Take another look at ACTS prayer in the sermon “Let’s bow our heads for a few moments” preached in Duke University Chapel by Sam Wells.
• Evelyn Bence discusses her experiences with a prayer labyrinth and with a “soaking prayer” event in the article “Listening for God.”

For Small Group Facilitators/Leaders:

The discussion session is designed for a one-hour session. Here are suggestions for how to shorten or lengthen the session, as well as what part to emphasize.

Shorter session: In the Bring It Home section, use Option 2 or 3.

Longer session:

• Give the group time to share and reflect on their lives using Psalm 27 in the Word Search.
• Ask your group to share what they learned by reading the devotionals.
• In the Bring It Home section, use Option 1.

Here are some additional ideas to help you tailor the lesson to your group.

• For Starters: Review the Live It Out section of the devotionals. Ask your group if anyone tried one of these ideas. Was it helpful? As a leader, be prepared to talk about your own experience with these sections.
• Let’s Focus: After reading about the many forms of prayer, make a list with your group. Don’t worry if your list is short. Place the list in a place where everyone can see it; as your discussion continues you can add to your list.
• Word Search
  • Mark 1:34-36. After a brief introduction in Mark 1:1-15, the reader is immersed in Jesus’ ministry. The rest of this chapter covers Jesus’ call to his disciples, followed by three short narratives: driving out an evil spirit, healing Simon’s mother-in-law, and healing a leper. Some were amazed by his compassion, others by his popularity. Jesus is so well-known that he can’t even enter a town openly.
  • Acts 4:23-31. The book of Acts begins in Jerusalem. In chapter 2 the Holy Spirit’s coming marks a new beginning of the gospel extending to the Jew and the Gentile. The early church’s life in Jerusalem is filled with healing, preaching, and opposition. This passage is a prayer offered after Peter and John are released from jail. The quote is from Psalm 2:1-2.
  • Psalm 131 is one of the Psalms of ascent (Psalms 120-134). God’s Old Testament people would sing these psalms as they journeyed to Jerusalem to worship at the temple.
• Bring It Home
  • Option 1: Be ready to suggest positive characteristics for each member in your group.
  • Option 3: Come prepared with an example from your own life of someone who you admire as a person of prayer.
• Pray It Through: Choose one of the options given.
• Live It Out:
  • Ask your group to make a list of people they could partner with in prayer. (Provide paper and pencils.) Your group members can put the list in their Bible or in another place to remind them to pray for these people and ask God for his leadership.
  • As the leader, make yourself available to set up prayer partnerships for your group members. Set up a short time frame (try six weeks) for the partners to meet once a week at their convenience for 30 minutes. Don’t be surprised if these relationships last much longer.
  • Contact your pastor or prayer coordinator to find out what prayer ministries are currently available in your congregation and how your group can join.

Submit your ideas!

Do you have suggestions for this particular session? Something that was especially meaningful for you or your group? Extra reading you’d like to suggest? Help others get the most out of this session. Send your ideas to editors@FaithAliveResources.org and we’ll consider adding them here!