Our Secret Sunday Service
Written by Jim Essian, published March 2021
Our 8 am Prayer Gathering, whether online or in-person, is perhaps the most important corporate gathering we have. Prayer is the fuel for our lives. Prayer has always been the catalyst to revival. Prayer renews our hearts in the Lord.
In Acts 1:14 it says: “All [the disciples] with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. We want to value group prayer like this too.
At TPC, we have found that the anchors that guide this kind of group prayer lead to a vibrant, Spirit-led time together. It differs from what we often experience in group prayer: talking in detail about our prayer requests so that there is little time left to pray, or praying in one long monologue after another.
Conversational prayer, however, recognizes that prayer is talking to God—and group prayer should be talking to God together, not just with others. As we pray, we invite and expect the Holy Spirit to be praying with us as well—guiding and edifying our prayers among us.
We are told in Scripture to “pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). But what is the difference between praying in the Spirit or praying in the flesh?
Here is the key difference: in the flesh, we are pushing the prayers forward, while in the Spirit, we feel caught up in the way the Spirit carries the prayer forward. Praying in the Spirit is experiencing the Spirit of life bringing prayer to life.
So conversational prayer also emphasizes the art of listening— to the Holy Spirit and to one another. Its use of short, focused prayers prevents anyone from dominating with long, lofty monologues or covering all the prayer requests in one breath. It is also more inviting to those who are shy or new to prayer and encourages them to pray out loud.
Anchors for Conversational Prayer
Pray about one topic at a time. Don’t jump from topic to topic, but have a conversation together with God through the Spirit. When a topic is complete, it will be clear because everyone stops praying! Wait for someone else to present a new topic in prayer, and keep going. You will be surprised at how fast the time goes with just one or two topics.
Pray shorter, spontaneous prayers, not long ones in a circle. There shouldn’t be an order to who prays next. Each and every person can and should pray as often as they like. But keep them short like any conversation you would have with someone.
Listen and build off of each other’s prayers. Try to avoid thinking about what you should pray as someone else is praying. Instead, listen to your brother or sister pray, and join them in agreement, let their prayer shape and guide yours, trusting the Spirit is guiding the conversation. This is key and it makes the prayer time more alive, unifying, and powerful.
Be prepared for God to speak back. If a scripture comes to mind, read it aloud as a prayer. This is most likely the Spirit leading the prayer or speaking back to the group. If you see a vision or feel led to encourage someone or pray for them personally, pray silently asking God if you should do that in the group or privately, and then do so with humble confidence.
If you feel a little stuck in life or maybe a little bored in your spiritual life, or if you just want to see God move and his Kingdom advancing, come join us for our 8 am prayer gathering.
For His Fame
Pastor Jim