We have looked at the same psalm (118) and had essentially the same list of potential prayer topics for the last two weeks’ Tuesday morning prayer services.  But we had different instructions each time.

Last week, we took turns reading verses from the psalm. This serves to focus attention on the passage and get everyone’s vocal cords warmed up a bit.  We had a starter list of prayer chain requests and known upcoming events. Then we prayed as led using the whole psalm as a source of ideas – Thanksgiving; God’s goodness and love; the LORD as refuge, helper, savior; verses quoted by New Testament authors; and remembering that the LORD answers prayers.

This week, we took turns not just reading the verse but praying the scripture, and applying the thanksgiving, refuge, salvation, and other ideas to the list of topics and others.  The purpose was to have each person focus and apply a smaller section of the Word.  It was a joy to hear how others were prompted to give thanks, offer praise, and intercede based on the words of the psalm.

One comment for potential leaders:  If you want to get all the way through the 29 verses of Psalm 118 in half an hour, you should mention your goal at the beginning and caution everyone to be brief.  Also know that you don’t have to finish; some longer prayers cannot be rushed.