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Are there people in your group who do not wish to participate in prayer time? How do you handle that?
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24 Replies
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They don’t show up, no one has come that doesn’t want to be there right now.
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There are many reasons why a person would not participate in prayer time. This can be due to emotions, hurts, and unfamiliarity with praying in groups. Not all churches do this, and it can be daunting when you’re accustomed to praying intimately with the Lord. I truly hope that everyone involved would handle this carefully, with a lot of love and grace. So things are very difficult, but nothing is impossible with Jesus. I pray on it, and I encourage with the thought of fellowship and strengthening each other.
I have a friend who had never been to church, she is now 82, but 5 years ago she started attending my wife’s prayer meetings. It took awhile, but now she is a vital member of their group.
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Sometimes people do not come to the prayer meeting because they are busy. That is the message I receive from the team. But I encourage them to try to have time of prayer. I asked them for us to make adjustment in prayer time.
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In the primary group I am considering for this course I have not experienced anyone who does not want to pray. As some have come in, however, they have been a little more timid with their prayers in the beginning, but as they become more comfortable, they have opened up with their prayers. One of the ways we have facilitated this is to allow people to begin by praying in their native language, praying a psalm, or praying for a specific request. As the group builds trust, people feel more comfortable and they pray without restraint.
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People begin to pray out loud when the prayer need is close to their heart. I encourage people and myself to use the psalms to pray because I find in them all kinds of prayers.