Introducing People to Group Prayer – Part 2 of 2

Here are some tips that will help you to ease people who are unfamiliar with group prayer into this very important spiritual practice:

1. Don't call on anybody. Some people are terrified to pray in front of others, and if they’re newer to the group, they may not return if you put them on the spot.
   
2. Don't go in a circle. This puts people who don’t want to pray aloud in an embarrassing situation, especially if they’re the only one to pass.
   
3. Go first in sharing a personal prayer request. This primes the pump for others to share and sets an example of vulnerability.
   
4. Appoint somebody to write down prayer requests. Then follow-up on them at your next gathering. This cultivates a warm and caring environment that will help people feel safer about personally engaging in group prayer.
   
5. Integration. Discussing prayer needs outside of the time allotted for prayer in your next gathering can help to integrate prayer more into your group-life. This helps group prayer feel more a natural part of your group-life as opposed to an isolated or add-on component.