I am devoting this week’s Saturday Lagniappe to the subject of prayer. If a church is to become a praying church, it must have a pastor and elders or their equivalent who pray, not only publicly but in private. While Anglican and Episcopal churches do not formally have elders beside their pastor, they do have a number of people in leadership positions who informally act as elders—deacons, lay readers, church wardens, bishop’s committee, parish council, or vestry members, ministry leaders, small group leaders, and so on. These individuals, like the pastor, should set an example for church members and others.
One of the challenges that Anglicans and Episcopalians face in their use of a variety of set forms of prayer in their services of public worship is the temptation to assume that they have covered all the bases. Yet too often prayer in these services is perfunctory with little attention to what is said or to the thoughts behind it. The words and thoughts are not allowed to penetrate the inner recesses of the worshiper’s being and to evoke the prayer of the heart. How different are our services of public worship when we pray the liturgy from the heart, when we own what we are praying and it becomes our prayer.
Whether a church uses set forms, composed prayers, extemporaneous prayers, or a combination of the three, I believe that these posts will help the church become a praying church.
4 Ways Martin Luther Encourages Pastors to Pray
Mark Rogers shares the encouragement he finds in the writings of Martin Luther to keep from sliding into prayerlessness. Read More
10 Ways to Pray More
Most of us struggle with having a consistent prayer life. If you struggle, too, here are some simple options to pray more.... Read More
7 Things to Do Wen You Can't Even Pray
I’ve been there – when the anguish of life is so heavy that you can’t even speak . . . even to God. Yet, not praying hardly seems to be the right thing to do in those times. So, here are some things to do when you’re struggling so much that you can’t even pray.... Read More
A Test: What Kind of Praying Leader Are You?
Use these descriptions to evaluate what kind of “praying leader” you are, recognizing that more than one category can describe you. Read More
Five Highly Effective Ways to Enhance Corporate Prayer in Your Church [Podcast]
Corporate prayer is instrumental in shaping the DNA of a church. A praying church is often one who realizes that they are fully dependent on God’s power. Today, Thom Rainer and Jonathan Howe discuss five ways you can increase the power and frequency of prayer in your church. Listen Now
Suggestions for Redeeming Your Church’s Prayer Meeting
What can we do to redeem the perception and practice of the “prayer meeting” in our churches? I offer these five strategies.... Read More
What Romanian Believers Taught Me About Prayer
I love to listen to the testimonies of my American friends who have recently been to Romania to do mission work. They inevitably comment on the prayer practices of Romanian churches. Read More
2 Reminders from the Korean Church about Prayer
Here are two areas in which the Korean church has something to teach us in the West. Read More
Tongsung Kido (A Unique Korean Prayer)
A unique and special Korean prayer style is called Tongsung Kido. Tongsung means, “cry out together loudly,” and Kido means, “pray.” So, Tongsung Kido means, “praying together out loud.” This unique form of Korean prayer is an important part of prayer life among the spirit-filled prayer life of Korean Christians. Personally, I think that Tongsung Kido has value as an example of a fervent and earnest way of crying out to God. Read More
Prayer Walking: A Way to Pray Specifically for Our Neighborhoods
When you hear the sounds and see the sights of a particular place, you understand better how to pray for the people in that location. Read More
Photo by Igor Rodrigues on Unsplash
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