I recall my early training on bible teaching:  Be prepared, know the material, and expect deviations from the lesson. Be alert to students’ responses, insights and questions that may require tangents from your script. That’s why you prepare broadly so that maybe you have some answers, and that’s why you remember the lessons is about God, not you, so that you can admit when you don’t know the answer.

Two experiential results convinced me. First, if you ask any group which verse in the passage caught their attention (or made them think, or “spoke” to them) there will be a variety of responses. Second, If you did the same lesson a year later and asked the same question, most people’s response would be different the second time around. The Word of God is living and active, teaching each what they need to know at that time.

It turns out that same principle applies when leading a prayer time. It’s good to prepare a list of topics or guiding prayers, but don’t hold too tightly. One morning recently we were concentrating on the joy of the gospel and had printed out the first two questions and answers of the Heidleberg Catechism and the first four from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. After taking turns reading the questions and answers, there were five main topics / directions to consider:

• Praise God for He is holy
• Confess sin because we are not holy
• Give thanks for the gospel, including sanctification and forgiveness of sin
• Pray for God to work in specific people who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior
• Bring Prayer requests for our church, brothers and sisters, and others’ needs

I expected the Praise, thanksgiving, and requests sections would be most lively. But not today. Confessing sin and praying for specific unsaved people was where we spent most of our time.