This post is partly about what we prayed the other night, but the more unique part is the method we used – praying during our meeting being held via phone conference call.

The meeting itself was for a subcommittee’s quick review of next year’s budget.  We had already done the first appraisal and just needed to check a few updates before next week’s larger group discussion.  It seemed wise to use a little technology to save the time required for everyone to drive to the central meeting spot.

The budget is divided into some eleven sections – Campus Ministry, Missionaries, Staff, Office and Administration, Youth Ministries, etc. Each section has an appropriate number of line items.  We regularly pray that the Lord will bring along the funds needed for the people and ministries represented by the many numbers in the budget, that we would have the faith to allocate money needed to do His work well, and we would have the wisdom to be good stewards of what He has provided.

This night we took turns praying by section.  Each person lifted up the general purpose for the area and then offered specific requests for the staff and volunteers who support the ministries and the work of the Lord in the hearts of those who participate or are served.

We discovered a couple of things about the phone conference milieu.  First, you may have muted your phone while others prayed, but make sure you unmute when it is your turn!  Second, the printed instruction when we are in the same room to “take turns around the room” needs further clarification.  The alphabet is a helpful  tool – the leader assigns the first round based on names, and participants can take notes to remember their place in the rotation.

The prayers were just as rich as at a face-to-face meeting, although it was a little disconcerting when two of the meeting members have similar phone voices – not quite sure who was talking.  One option we will consider for the future is a video conference, where each person uses the camera on their computer and we could see the faces.