In May 2002, we restarted our Prayer Ministry here at Reeds UMC. Our Prayer Ministry is a ministry of the church, by the church. It is our hope and expectation that the reach of our Prayer Ministry will expand far beyond the walls of our church, as it is a ministry of caring and hope.
Galatians 6:2 directs us to “share,” or bear, “one another’s burdens.” One way we do this is through prayer. Prayer also helps us individually. Spending time with God in prayer is one way in which we draw close to God and deepen our relationship with Him.
The physical hub of our Prayer Ministry is the Prayer Studio. It is located downstairs in the church, beside the Mock classroom. The Prayer Studio is available to all the church family to use. If you need a quiet place to pray, meditate, or study, we encourage you to make use of the Prayer Studio.
As you enter the Prayer Studio, you will find a work table immediately to your right. Two stations are housed on this table. Underneath the first bulletin board is our Prayer Methods Station. It is a place where you can check in periodically to learn about different ways to pray. Learning different prayer methods can help strengthen and deepen your prayer life.
We are introducing one prayer method at a time, each having its own brief instructional sheet that you may take home with you. If it is a hands-on type of prayer method (such as our first prayer method, Doodle Prayers), we will provide the materials necessary for you to try the method out on-site. After a period of time, we will switch out the prayer method being featured.
For those who may prefer praying or studying in a different area of the church or outside on the church grounds, there is a caddy that can be loaded with tools and transported to your preferred location around the church.
Information sheets from past prayer methods that have already been introduced at the station will remain available on the desk in the Prayer Studio. They are located in the file sorter and their files are labeled accordingly. Should you need assistance locating an information sheet or have questions about the current prayer method being featured in the Prayer Method Station, please let me know.
Also housed at the opposite end of the work table is our Encouragement Station. Here, you will find an assortment of greeting cards with envelopes. After you have spent time in prayer, we invite you to choose one or two people for whom you have prayed that day and write a note to them in one of the cards at the station, letting them know that they have been prayed for and adding whatever other encouraging words or thoughts you have for them. After writing your note, put it in the envelope and seal it, writing the recipient’s name on the front. If you have their address, you can add that as well, but if you don’t have their address, you can leave your card on the table, and we will see to it that the address is located and the card is put into the mail. We also ask that you use the log book to let us know that a card has been sent and to whom. We would like to be able to send cards to as many folks on our prayer board as possible.
As you move past the work table, you will come to our second bulletin board – “Prayers and Praises.” Various prayer requests are posted to the “Prayers” side of the board. Answered prayers are moved to the “Praises” side. Answered prayers are also posted to the fish net hanging on the wall outside the Prayer Studio. To find out who or what we, as a church, are holding up in prayer, please check this board. It is updated often. We invite you to join your faith and your prayers with ours!
In the corner, you will find the “Prayer Chair.” It is located near the “Prayers and Praises” bulletin board and is situated on a round rug. You are free to pray sitting in any chair in the Prayer Studio, or standing if you prefer. You may also move the prayer chair, gather the chair cushions in the room, and kneel or sit on the rug to pray. We encourage you to pray in whatever position (sitting, standing, or kneeling) is best for you.
Making a left-hand turn, our desk is situated in front of the windows. Past prayer method information sheets are housed in the file sorter on this desk. Just past the desk is a small, three-tiered rolling cart. This is our prayer library. The books in the library are available to be checked out, taken home to be read, and brought back. In addition to curating a collection of books about prayer, we have a few different translations or paraphrases of the Bible on the cart. We hope to continue adding to our small resource library as we go, adding more books, Bible translations and study resources, and some Bible studies on prayer. Please feel free to make use of the resources we have made available for everyone.
Making another left-hand turn past the library cart, you will find a chalkboard hanging on the wall. You may leave community-minded prayer requests on the board. Past requests have included prayers for the families of victims of school or community shootings, prayers for our Nation, and prayers for our students and teachers as they return to school for a new year. Anyone is welcome to leave a community request on the chalkboard.
If you are using the Prayer Studio for prayer, meditation, or study, or as a quiet space in which to gather your thoughts or be still before God, please turn the door hanger to the appropriate side (“Available for Prayer” or “Prayer in progress; do not disturb.”) and close the door for privacy.
Sprinkled throughout the Prayer Studio are mini posters bearing Scripture verses. We invite you to use these as a tool to center yourself or prepare yourself for prayer. Breath Prayers, which are currently being featured in our Prayer Methods Station, are also very helpful for centering one’s self in preparation for prayer.
Located upstairs in the hallway outside the bathrooms and water fountain are our Prayer Boxes. These boxes are for prayers that you don’t want shared with the whole church. They are marked, and an identifying card explaining each box’s use is posted beside it.
Anonymous Prayers are not read. We simply empty the anonymous prayer box straight into an envelope, seal the envelope, and date it. We then pray over the requests contained in the envelope every week for one month. At the end of the month, the envelope and its contents are burned. No one but the requester and God knows what the request was, and we, as intercessors, trust that God has seen, knows, and is answering the prayer request.
Specified Prayers are collected and read by me. These are prayers that you do not want shared with the church family but would like shared with the Prayer Team and the Pastor. They are held in confidence, and the Prayer Team and Pastor will pray over these requests weekly for one month. At the end of the month, these requests are also burned to protect their confidential nature.
With either of these types of prayer requests, you may resubmit your request when one month has passed, and we will continue praying.
As time goes on, we will continue to look for ways to expand and improve upon our Prayer Ministry. We encourage everyone in the church family to consider committing to spending one hour per week in the Prayer Studio in prayer for the needs posted there. If you have a prayer need and would like someone to pray with you, please contact me. I will be happy to pray with you, or I can contact our Pastor on your behalf, if you would prefer.
Blessings and peace to you in Jesus’ name.
Jeanna
