Having been in many churches and prayer meetings over the years, I have found some recurring problems. If you want to develop a culture of prayer in your church, here's a good start:
1. Teach/model prayer. Most people are not natural pray-ers, they have to learn how to pray and develop a passion for prayer.
2. Take time to actually pray. Music, sermons, prayer requests, devotionals, and fellowship are all good things, but they're not prayer.
3. A variety of people should pray. In prayer meetings, don’t dominate the time with long prayers. There are others who might want to pray. Don’t be afraid to pray just one or two sentences.
4. Pray with purpose. Avoid random disconnected statements.
5. We forget that we are praying. Prayers can sometimes become a lecture to those assembled rather than conversation directed to God.
6. Silence is good. We listen as well as speak.
7. If you have the gift of tongues, don’t babble incessantly. Participate in agreement with others by respecting them when they are praying.
8. If you have a prophecy or word of knowledge, you may wish to wait until the end rather than derail the prayer.
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