How to Get Comfortable Praying With Others
A Guide to “Praying For One Another”
“…pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
Praying for each other is one of the roles of Christians. We pray for others in our own personal prayer time. But what about praying with others? Praying with others can be intimidating. So How can we get comfortable doing it? Read on to find some tips from the experts!
LET’S START WITH THE WHY…
When come together as a Family of God, there are many of us who have needs. Some of those who we see at church are really struggling. Some are in pain, some are lonely, some are feeling defeated. When we come together, we are not just coming to hear songs sung and the preacher preach, but we are coming together to serve one another. Some serve by singing, some by teaching Sunday School, but one thing we all can and should do to serve one another is praying together.
And this one simple act – praying with another person – has amazing power. In fact, Jesus said:
““Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
So, we know that people are coming to church with real hurts and real needs. We also know that all we have to do is ask for healing alongside another person, agreeing in faith in order to see a resolution to their need. It’s easy to see, then, why praying with others is so important.
SO THEN, WHAT DO WE DO?
We each might have this idea in our mind about what it means to pray with someone. Maybe we think that we have to have eloquent and well-said prayers to pray out loud. Maybe we think we need to have a specific word of prophecy for the person.
Those lofty ideas about what it means to pray with others are likely to hold us back – particularly if we don’t feel confident that we have them. However, praying with someone is as simple as agreeing in faith.
FOUR SIMPLE STEPS
There are really only four steps we need to take when praying with other people.
Step 1: Pray and ask God who you should pray with.
Step 2: Look around and wait for God to show you someone.
Step 3: Approach the person and ask if you can pray with them and if there is something specific you can pray for.
Step 4: Pray for that person and for their situation.
“BUT WHAT SHOULD I SAY?”
When you pray out loud with another person, focus on prayers of encouragement. Pray about the love of God, about the power of God, about the mercy of God, about the promises of God.
Pray in terms of ‘we’: We love you, God. We trust you, God. We believe you, God.
Praying with another person is an act of unity. You are joining together to petition God for something.
Worship and praise God together. God inhabits our praise, so when we pray words of worship and praise, we are inviting God into our situation.
SOME WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
We asked a couple of trusted people for some guidance when it comes to praying with others at church. Here’s some insight they gave us:
“You don’t have to have a word for people. Give them the general word. Pray the scripture. Read some Psalms. You can pray the Psalms in the midst of people’s situations.” -Pastor Tim
“You don’t have to be perfect to pray with people. God wants everyone to have that ministry. You just have to have a desire for people to have an experience with God.” -Meghan Thielecke
WANT SOME FINAL PRACTICAL TIPS?
Be mindful of personal space. Not everyone likes to be in close quarters with others, and you want to make them feel comfortable.
Pray next to others instead of in front of them. This makes for a more comfortable experience for everyone and creates a feeling of unity.
Always ask permission before laying hands on someone. The last thing you want to do is seem inappropriate.
Use a breath mint. You don’t want to be a distraction.
Watch others who you know are effective at praying for others and model yourself after them.
Ask someone you trust to teach you how to pray for others.
The truth is, you don’t have to touch another person or even pray aloud in order to pray for others effectively. If you feel, however, that you want to start praying with other people, God has a reason for putting that pull on your heart. The best thing you can do is ask God to guide you, trust that he will, and take a step in faith the next time you have an opportunity to pray with someone.