47 Ideas For Group Prayer Time and Personal Prayers

We surveyed our group leaders and members to learn the best prayer practices for praying in your group, with your group members, and for personal prayer time.

We had 24 ideas for praying with your group and 23 ideas for personal prayer. 

Below is a summary of what we learned. 

What is 1 idea you can use in your group and your own personal prayer time? 

24 Ideas For Group Prayer Time:

• Who You Pray With:

1. Split Gender: for more intimate or personal sharing 

2. Smaller Groups: 2-4 people for more sharing/closer relationships 

3. Accountability: only 2 people pray together. Ask same 3 questions each week: 

• 1. How was your week? 

• 2. What next step are you going to commit to this week?. 

• 3. How can we hold you accountable/what do you need from us?

• Sharing Prayer Requests:

1. 3x5 Cards: Write prayer on 3x5 Card with phone number and name, exchange for check in during week 

• Sticky Note: use instead of card so you can post it somewhere you’ll see 

2. Group Texting: Share prayer requests at meeting, follow up through text during week, share results during week for celebration/prayer

•  Groupme Texting app: Use this app to help you organize group texts 

3. Email: Emailing prayer requests and updates during week 

4. Praying Instead of Sharing Requests: Instead of sharing your requests and then praying for them, pray your requests. Then you can spend more time praying instead of talking about prayer.

5. Write Down Requests: Add prayer requests to notes app or notebook to share or review personally. 

• Accountability/Followup:

1. Assign Weekly Partners: Exchange 3x5 cards or pair up another way for weekly check in.

2. Daily Prayer For Someone Struggling: Assign a different group member each day to pray with and for a group member who is really struggling. 

• What to Pray:

1. Praise and Request: 1 thing you are thankful for, 1 request .

2. Confess Sins and Be Vulnerable: group members will follow the leaders example.

3. Bring A Prepared List: Bring a list of things to pray for during prayer time.

4. 3 Topics (Thanks/Growth/Request): 

• 1 thing you are thankful for

• 1 area you need to grow (a goal)

• 1 general request 

5. 3 Accountability Questions: 

• 1. How was your week? 

• 2. What next step are you going to commit to this week?. 

• 3. How can we hold you accountable/what do you need from us?

6. If Nothing Personal Is Requested: If people don’t share a personal request we get to pick a prayer request for them and each pray that for them (like a fruit of the Spirit).

• Format:

1. Praying Instead of Sharing Requests: Instead of sharing your requests and then praying for them, pray your requests. Then you can spend more time praying instead of talking about prayer.

2. Before Discussion: Pray before discussion to prioritize enough time to pray so it is not rushed in the end.

3. Short Prayers: Pray 1 sentence prayers or short prayers to make it safer for those who are new to prayer. 

4. Ask For Volunteers:

• This makes it safe for those who are not comfortable praying. Not everyone has to pray, but we can pray for everyone.

5. Popcorn Prayers: Have everyone pray spontaneously, instead of a circle, to make it safe for those who are uncomfortable with prayer and don’t want to be put on the spot. 

6. Immediate Prayers: Have a person pray right after each person shares instead of trying to pray for all of the requests at the end. 

7. Praying For Person On Your Left

8. Set a Timer: Set a timer for each person to share so everyone gets equal sharing time, this helps when you have some especially long winded people.

23 Ideas for Personal Prayer Time:

• Time (When):

1. Continuous Prayer: Prayer throughout the day. Make the resting place of your mind to focus on Jesus between tasks and throughout the day.

2. Morning: Praying first thing in the morning 

• Go to bed on time so I can wake up early.

3. Evening: Praying in evening when more awake 

4. Multiple Times Daily: Praying same times each day (morning, meals, in car, before bed)

5. Prayer in Car 

6. With Other Habits: pair prayer with another daily habit that you do the same time each day. 

7. The same time each day

• Strategies:

1. Praying Out Loud: in my personal prayer time

2. Use Bible: reading, meditation, memorization to focus your prayers 

3. Prayer Walks 

4. Journaling Prayers: Write out your prayers 

5. Praying With Spouse 

• before bed 

• While going for a walk

6. Praying In a Massage Chair

7. Give Spirit Control: Ask the Spirit to redirect your mind and heart.

• Guides:

1. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

2. ACTS acrostic: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication 

3. 1 Scripture Verse: Focus on 1 verse, pray over scripture over people. 

• Tools:

1. Prayer Apps:

• Youversion Bible App prayer guide

• PrayerMate app

• Inner Room

2. Worship Music: Use worship music for prayer 

3. Devotionals: My Utmost for His Highest, The Songs of Jesus

4. Sticky Note Reminders: on wall/mirror with each group member name.

5. Digital Reminders: Set reminders/prayer alarm on phone.

6. Prayer Lists

What is 1 idea you can use in your group and your own personal prayer time? 

How to Get the Most Out of Your Prayer Time in Groups

It could be the all-night rambling. Maybe it's the complaining or the disguised gossiping. It might be the avoiding. It's certainly being contributed to by the chatting. And if we don't end on time, we can be relatively certain that those oh-so-spiritually-postured eyelids mean half of the group has fallen asleep.

Have you been frustrated with prayer time in your community group? I sure have. It can be hard as leaders to reign people in and foster God-honoring, sin-stomping, soul-working, growth-producing prayer time. How do we get there?

Enter: Community Group Prayer and Application Cards.

These cards help promote:

• Spiritual Growth -- We  stay focused on application of the group's discussion and intentional work towards heart-change.

• Purposeful Prayer -- Our time gets guarded, everyone has a chance to share, and out-loud prayer becomes easier for those new to it.

• Group Unity -- We have more specific things to pray for and connect with each other about during the week.

How to Use the Prayer and Application Cards:

1. Fill Them Out

   • When you break for prayer time, hand out the cards and give the group a few minutes to think quietly about how they're going to apply the last question from the group discussion to their lives.

   • Everyone writes their application and how the group can pray for them about it on their card. The space is limited to help people get specific.

   • A Tip from Our Group: We've recently started having everyone add a specific fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 that we want to see God grow in us through our individual life-application. It's been another great way to see continued life-change.

2. Share and Pray

   • Consider using a timer on a phone to divide up the remaining time and give each person an equal window for sharing.

   • One person shares from their card and then passes their card to the person next to them. That person prays about what's on the card, and can even just read the card out loud as a prayer if praying out loud is challenging for them. Then, it's their turn to share and pass their own card, and the circle continues.

   • A Tip from Our Group: We ask people to keep prayer requests for anyone else (i.e. relatives, friends, or co-workers) in emails and texts throughout the week.

3. Reserve Comments

   • When others are sharing, ask everyone to hold off on encouragement or advice.

   • Challenge everyone to write down their thoughts, take time later to pray, and listen to the Holy Spirit. Then, they can reach out to that person during the week, instead of at group.

   • A Tip from Our Group: We hand out blank cards right at the beginning of prayer time for this purpose so that everyone has a place ready to write comments down.

4. Collect the Cards

   • At the end, collect all of the cards.

   • Two suggestions at this point:

     • Send the prayer requests to the group in an email as a reminder of how to keep praying for one another.

     • Distribute one card to each person for focus praying for just one during the week.

   • A Tip from Our Group: Try taking a photo of all of the cards on a phone and texting it to group members, to save time.

From the first week we used these cards, our group started to focus better, to pray more consistently, to recognize deeper growth, and to be careful to honor others. More than anything, the cards have been a catalyst for visible and ongoing life-change, and for many fewer prayer-time naps.

You can download and print copies of the Prayer and Application Cards HERE or bring 3x5 cards for the same purpose.

Becky Bennett

Northridge Community Group Leader

Author/Blogger: www.tochoosejoy.com

More Resources On Group Prayer

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Leading A Meaningful Prayer Time (Group Leader Training Breakout)

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