The Divine pattern of prayer is to pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, and with the help of the Holy Spirit.....


Some tips on how to compose a short prayer for a meeting or church service:-
• Begin by addressing God
When we come to God it's often good to think about an attribute or title that God has - this helps to remind us of who He is.
E.G. "Dear all loving and everlasting Father"
"Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"
"Dear Lord and Father"
• Give thanks to God
Here we think about and celebrate the relationship that we enjoy with God. For example, you could recount God's faithfulness to you (or the groups) during the last week, or you could draw on accounts and experiences from the bible.
E.G. "Thank you that you have been with us this last week and that Your presence is with us now"
"Today we remind ourselves of Your faithfulness through all generations and Your goodness to each of us during this last week".
• Bring Your Requests to Him
Here you can bring to mind some things that you would like to see happen as you meet together. If there is a speaker you could ask that God inspires them, if there is worship you could ask that God meets with people and that hearts are open to receive from Him etc.
E.G. "Lord, we thank you for (name of speaker). We pray that you would give them great inspiration as they share what You have placed on their heart".
"Father, as we come to You in worship, we invite You to move freely amongst us. Come and transform us by Your Holy Spirit we pray"
• Close with worship and an amen
A good way of finishing a prayer is to acknowledge the greatness and wonder of God in some way. Also, it is important that people know you have finished praying by saying amen!
E.G. "For from him and through him and for him are all things, both now and forever. Amen". (this is a reference to the Apostle Paul's writings in Rom 11:36 NIV)
"To Him be the glory, for ever and ever. Amen"
"We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen"
Sample Opening Prayer
So putting some of these sentences together, we can start to build our own opening prayer to God:
Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Thank you that you have been with us this last week and that Your presence is with us now.
Lord, we thank you for (name of speaker). We pray that you would give them great inspiration as they share with us what You have placed on their heart.
We pray that You would fill them with courage and give them Your peace.
We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour.
Amen.


Thanks for reading.

OAM4J