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GROWING
TOGETHER
Learning
to Pray as a Group. Praying together in
a Spiritual Formation Group or some other context,
while a great privilege, can be frustrating at
times. In the first place, any gathering of people
brings with it very different expectations of
prayer, even misconceptions. Then, too, the intimacy
involved in praying together can be threatening
to some. And, if these factors are not enough,
the problem is further complicated by the fact
that many people bring to the group poor models
of corporate prayer, e.g. domineering, sermonizing,
special religious jargon, etc. If you can identify
with these problems, then here are a few ways
to help you get past these awkward situations.
STEP
1: Letting Silence Shatter Myths Because most
of us tend to view prayer as talking, a quick
way to shatter this myth is to learn how to pray
without words. This will also help to put an end
to the performance mentality. By sitting together
in silence with each person focusing his or her
attention on the presence of God, the group will
experience a sense of unity. No one is on stage;
each member is united by God's presence.
STEP
2: Utilizing Previously Composed Prayers The
liturgical churches have passed on to us several
wonderful prayers that have stood the test of
time. Previously composed prayers take away the
feeling of being "on stage." Also, the content
of many other prayers such as The Lord's Prayer
or St. Francis' prayers are rich and powerful.
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STEP
3: Praying the Scriptures The Bible is a rich
source of prayer. By using a passage or a verse
as the focus of the group's prayer, each member
is allowed a chance to interact with God's word
to us. In doing this we take what God is saying
to us and turn it into a prayer we say back to him.
It involves a more personal interaction than Step
2, but the content is already provided.
STEP
4: Becoming Creative Through Self-Composed
Prayers Many of us might feel more comfortable
praying in front of others if we had a little
time to prepare. One way to do this is to have
each member, or one designated member for a meeting,
write a prayer. This is more intimidating than
Step 3, but it helps to develop a sense of group
identity because the prayers come from the heart
and life of one of the members.
STEP
5: Conversational Prayer Many of us use a
different language when we talk with God than
with others, and those who cannot speak "Christianese"
usually feel intimidated. In this exercise each
member talks with God as they would a friend,
using short, simple, honest sentences. Because
the nature of the prayers are heart-felt, this
is highly personal, but, because it is very informal,
it is not forbidding even for people who have
not prayed much with others.
STEP
6: Breaking into Sub-Groups Even though a
group may have only five or six members, it can
still be intimidating for some people to share
their concerns or to pray out loud. Praying in
a smaller sub-group helps ease people into praying
in
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