As a prayer meeting is a gathering of believers who pray together, leadership and administrative skills would help in leading a prayer meeting, most especially if the prayer meeting involves a more extensive group, as found in big churches. Regardless of whether the prayer group is large or small, it helps to use leadership and administrative skills to make the prayer meeting more smooth, effective and efficient.
Heavenly Father, all wisdom and understanding come from You alone. I pray for the wisdom, discernment, and understanding that I need to lead our prayer meeting effectively and efficiently. Help me to serve You by leading our prayer meeting with excellence. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
How To Lead A Prayer Meeting Effectively
What should you prepare before a prayer meeting?
Preparation is the key to leading a prayer meeting more efficiently, effectively, and smoothly. A show or play goes smoothly because the actors, crew, and other persons involved have already prepared for the show or play’s actual performance. They have rehearsed and prepared the character’s costumes, settings, etc. While a prayer meeting is not as complicated as a show or play, the point here is that preparation would go a long way in enhancing the prayer meeting.
There are several things that you can prepare beforehand. One is assigning volunteers or point persons who will lead the worship. If you do corporate worship during a prayer meeting, assign some people beforehand to lead the worship so you will not have to find someone at the last minute. Those assigned people will also be able to practice and prepare the songs they will use during the worship of the prayer meeting.
Also, the prayer meetings program or flow is something that you can prepare ahead of time. That does not have to be like a formal program, but at least settle the prayer meeting flow so things go more smoothly. You can think about whether the people will worship first and then pray or vice versa. You can also think about when encouragement or exhortation will be done. Make a rough plan of what will happen during the prayer meeting so that things are organized before and during the meeting. Of course, the details of the flow or program will vary from one church to another, as each church has its way of doing things. Nonetheless, whatever way of doing a prayer meeting your church follows, it is beneficial to prepare the flow beforehand.
After you prepare the flow or program of the prayer meeting, the next thing that you can prepare ahead of time is the volunteers, ministers, and their respective roles. With the flow or program you already have, you know the volunteers and the point persons needed to be tapped for specific roles. Just like assigning people to lead worship, it is good to look at and assign people beforehand.
You can also prepare the prayer points that the congregation will pray beforehand. Those prayer points will be up to you or the church staff. You can have a central theme like praying for the government, the church, or specific areas of society, or you can have a prayer meeting where people can just pray whatever they want to intercede or pray for.
Lastly, you can prepare the place or venue for conducting your prayer meeting beforehand. If you need to book a venue, by all means, book as soon as you can, and if you already have a place, make sure to prepare the place by arranging the chairs and setting up the sound systems, TV screens, and other technical things that have to be readied.
All of the things we mentioned are just tips on how you can prepare for a prayer meeting. In the end, these are subjective and could be changed depending on what works well for you. However, this section’s main point is that preparation is essential to lead a prayer meeting effectively.
How to lead the prayer meeting
Christ is the greatest example that we have when it comes to leadership. In Matthew 20:26–28, Jesus taught us that He came not to be served but to serve. Christ exemplified this when He humbled Himself and washed His disciples’ feet. The same principle should be kept in mind when leading a prayer meeting. Yes, we are there to coordinate with people and sometimes tell people what to do, but in the end, we do it not to boss people around but to serve God and others by making their prayer meetings go as smoothly as possible.
You lead a prayer meeting by asserting responsibility. As you assert and take responsibility for the prayer meeting that you are about to lead, you become diligent, disciplined, and excellent in your work. It also involves taking ownership of the prayer meeting entrusted to you to lead.
On the technical aspect of it, you do this by planning, coordinating with people, and monitoring everything. When problems arise, you deal with them and find a solution. Think of it as hosting a party at your house. You ensure that food is served well and your guests are comfortable there. In the same sense, leading a prayer meeting is similar to that. The bottom line is being responsible and taking ownership.
Being entrusted with leading a prayer meeting should drive you to accept responsibility, take ownership, and be excellent and diligent in your work. We should be faithful in the things entrusted to us, both big and small. Just as in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:21, we are to be faithful with our responsibility regarding the prayer meeting, knowing that we should serve with excellence because we are working heartily for God and not for man (Colossians 3:23-24).
Heavenly Father, give me the grace to be diligent and excellent in preparing and leading our prayer meeting. Give me the wisdom that I need as I lead so that I may serve You better. Remind me that as I lead our prayer meeting, I am not doing it for men but for You. Help me to be faithful to what You entrusted me and to take ownership of it. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
How To Lead A Prayer Meeting Effectively
The Bible says that in Christ we can come before God’s throne of grace and ask Him for grace and mercy in times of need. That means you can pray and ask God for the grace and wisdom to lead well. All wisdom comes from God alone, and His mercy gives us the capabilities we need to do something. Also, remember that Christ is the very reason for everything we do. As written in Colossians 3:23-24, we are serving Christ. The life that we live now is not for ourselves but for Christ, Who humbled Himself by clothing Himself in flesh and blood, dwelling among His people, serving them, and dying for their sins.