Youth Director Dave at our church recruits and schedules people from the congregation for a prayer of supplication at each Sunday evening service.  For a couple of years we covered specific unreached people groups; this past year we have been praying for the missionaries our congregation supports.  This is the letter Dave sends to the praying people; it is full of helpful directions to make the prayer time worshipful:

Hello folks,

Thank you for agreeing to lead in prayer at the evening service! The prayer time is not just filler or add-on, but an important part of our gathering for worship. Hence, we want those who lead in prayer to lead thoughtfully and clearly. When your time comes close, you will get an email reminder regarding your scheduled prayer time. It is a fitting transition from praying for the top 100 highest populated unreached people groups to praying for the missionaries that URC supports. The  motivation is very similar; think of Revelation 5:9 “…And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,” and Revelation 14:6: “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.” We have people on the ground in these nations that we support financially that it will be good to support in prayer. Thanks again so much for your willingness to do so. What a privilege to be a part of the Lord’s work! Let me give a few practical instructions that were passed along to me:

• On the night you are praying, please arrive at church by 5:45pm. This is very important! The preacher and the worship team need to connect with you before the service starts to go over any last minute details.
• The prayer takes place after the singing and before the sermon. You pray from the pulpit up front. Use the microphone there. It should be on.
• You should begin by saying something like: “My name is______ and I’ll be leading us in prayer for ____________.” If you would like to add a brief and simple word of introduction, that would be good, (e.g. briefly introducing your missionary. “We are praying for the Johnsons, who are missionaries from our church in _____. They have three girls and work as _____.” Please no more than a sentence or two). This brief introduction AND your prayer should take about 3-5 minutes.
• Almost every missionary has a prayer letter in the lobby from which you should prepare. If there is not one there, you can contact me or the office  to get more information. Please be sure to pick it up early enough!

 A few thoughts on leading in prayer:

• Remember to use “we” and not “I.” You are leading all of us in prayer.
• I’ve asked each of you specifically to pray because I have confidence in your heart for the Lord and for reaching the lost. That said, remember to keep your prayers Christ-centered and gospel centered.
• Prepare your prayer. You can write it out or use an outline or have main points in your head, but don’t get up and wing it.
• It is better to spend more time praying and less time explaining prayer requests. For example, you don’t have to say, “We should pray for the economy, the upcoming elections, and their faithfulness to the gospel.” Just jump right in and pray those prayers. Explain during your prayer if you need to.
• Be yourself. Speak in the vernacular. Don’t intone spirituality. On the other hand, avoid a lot of slang or other expressions or words that will be distracting to the rest of us who are praying with you.

Please let me know if there are any concerns or questions. Thanks everyone,