We do not know how to pray as we ought. Romans 8:26

I realize that prayer is the weak link in my faith, and I suspect I am not alone. In our Sunday School class when we get ready to end and the teacher throws out the dreaded “Is anyone led to close us in prayer?” question, you can feel every set of eyes immediately look elsewhere. I recently heard results of a survey of folks my age that found that a very small percentage of us, many of whom attend worship regularly and are active members of our churches, spend time praying together with our families.

Because prayer is typically viewed as so personal and intimate, we do not often hold each other accountable with regard to prayer. We may invite others both inside and outside of our faith community to attend worship with us, and we encourage each other to grow our faith by participating in Sunday School classes and Bible studies, but how often do we walk up to each other and say “Are you spending enough time each day with God in prayer?”

I can come up with many good excuses for not making time for and focusing on prayer, and I really don’t want people to start asking me how my prayer life is as I walk through the halls at church, but recently I can’t get away from this whole prayer thing in two respects. First, you cannot read stories of Jesus without noting that he constantly takes time away from healing, performing miracles and teaching to withdraw from the crowds and pray. If this is the example we are to follow, we must do the same. Second, I feel a renewed focus on prayer within our church (though it is quite possible that it has been there all along and I am just now waking up to notice it). I have been overwhelmed by both the opportunities to learn about and grow in our prayer lives and the way that people are responding to those opportunities.

So for all of you out there who, like me, struggle with this area of your faith…wake up and take notice of what is happening with prayer at our church! These are just some of the ideas I have heard and activities that I have noticed…for more information on other opportunities within the Prayer Ministries at HBUMC, contact Mary June Jones ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

• Attend the Weekend of Prayer and Inner Healing: Healing the Hurts of the Past. March 27-28 at HBUMC. Visit www.hbumc.org for more information.
• Participate in a prayer service. Recently a child of a member of my circle was undergoing surgery. We all felt led to do something, and one of our members had the wonderful idea to hold a prayer service. Close to 25 of us gathered together, held hands, and lifted up this precious child and his family in our prayers. This type of experience was a first for most of us…but I am certain it will not be our last.
• Consider doing a study on prayer in your Sunday School class (Mary June recently visited our class and led a 3-week lesson). You’ll walk away being more comfortable in your discomfort and with a wealth of resources on prayer.
• Don’t forget to pray for your Sunday School Prayer Partners! Ideas for connecting and getting to know your partner class include holding joint classes, conducting one-on-one interviews and then introducing your partner to the class, making a craft together, having a holiday party together, sending cards to your partner class or the individuals in the class, and assigning a child to each adult in the class and having that adult pray specifically for that child.
• Circulate prayer concerns to your class or small group via email. Consider sending out a daily email with a prayer for a different member of the group each day of the month (or however long it takes to circulate through praying for everyone).
• Remember as you pray individually to hold the prayer cloths that have been given out at the recent worship services.

I hope as we spend this Lenten season examining our faith, we will all be challenged to get out of our comfort zone and take advantage of the greater things God will do with and through us as we experience prayer, both personally and in community.