This prayer concept is cool just because of the name – the usage of URC is one syllable that sounds like ”irk.”  It was invented by the Youth Group many years ago and named in honor of the church bus.  The big church bus had “University Reformed Church” painted on each side, and URC painted on the front, above the window.  It was affectionately called URC (like “irk”).

The prayer time is simply explained.  Stand in a circle and hold hands.  The leader prays a short prayer and then the next person on the right prays a short prayer immediately after, and so on. Go around two or three or five times depending on size of the group and the maturity of group members.

Holding hands allows you to squeeze the next person’s hand as a sign for them to proceed, when you have no prayer.  If you are doing it with youth group, the next person has to speak or squeeze a hand immediately after the prior person finishes.  Older groups are free to allow longer prayers and longer pauses.

You may want to have people share prayer requests before you start. You may also want to prime the pump with a few Bible verses like one of Paul’s prayers or the Lord’s Prayer. 

 

This prayer activity is suited for a mature group of believers.  We used it at our Executive Committee meeting last week.

 God is omniscient.  He knows what we need before we even ask.  He knows our prayers before we do. So why do we need to pray?

1. He tells us to.
2. We show our dependence on Him
3. He promises to give us what we ask if we abide in Him  (Read John 15.7)
4. Entering into earnest prayer helps us appreciate Jesus more.

 Jesus has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood (Heidelberg Catechism Answer #1).  Why should we ask God’s forgiveness for something already forgiven?

1. He tells us to.
2. We show our dependence on Him
3. He promises to forgive if we ask Him to  (Read 1 John 1.9)
4. Recognizing our multitude of sins helps us appreciate Jesus more (Read Luke 7.36-50)
5. The prayer of a righteous man has great power as it is working (Read James 5.16)

 1 John 1.8-10

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 

 After reading the passages briefly discuss how prayer and confession are similar.  Then spend a couple of minutes in each of these areas:

 Prayer Tonight

–          Praise and Thanksgiving

–          Confess Sin

–          Agenda Items

–          Congregational issues

 

We have an “Executive Committee” at University Reformed Church, which is the subset of Consistory charged with handling most administrative matters.  We spend the first fifteen or twenty minutes of our monthly evening meetings in some sort of devotion / Bible Study / Prayer activity.  We find this time helps us shake off the cares of the day and prepare to address the items on the agenda.

This simple question and direction started our meeting in March.  The six of us each had a sheet of paper to write answers and take notes on others’ responses.

“List 10 things we do as Consistory, Diaconate, and Elder Board that glorify God.”

And “Be ready to thank and praise the LORD for the privilege of these opportunities.”

After a few minutes of reflection, each person shared unique responses.  A portion of the combined list included teaching, witnessing, serve sacraments, serve others, be good husbands, be good parents, encourage and build others up, pray, make disciples, worship, be good stewards, listen, counsel, grieve and rejoice with others, discipline, give, and shepherd.

The prayer time started with the list and covered many of the agenda items.

We used this prayer time with a small group of 6 men.  It took 15-20 minutes.  Each person had a one page copy of the verses with room to write answers to the questions.  Notice that each individual will likely have a different answer to the third and the last questions – our uniqueness is another reason to praise God!

Deuteronomy 10.12-22

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.  For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.  He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.  Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.  You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.  He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.  Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.” 

From this passage,

–          What do we learn about reasons to praise God?

–          What specific events are the Israelites to be thankful for?  How does this translate to our situation?

–          Which commands  were most convicting to you right now?

–          How are we to act?

–          Out of all these “things to understand about God” what struck you most powerfully at this time?

Pray, especially being thankful and full of praise.  Confess sin – ways you are not acting as you ought.

 

What we heard about Korean Style Prayer was simply that everyone prays out loud at the same time.  So we did it with the High School Youth Group, with the Discipleship Groups of college students that we hosted, and with various small groups we were in.  The prayer times were pretty noisy, since most people would speak loudly to avoid hearing what other people were praying.  The effort of concentrating on prayer with distractions all around probably has some benefits.

Well, Linda, one of the college students, graduated and went to Korea to teach English as a Second Language.  She attended a church with real Koreans who practiced real Korean style prayer.   Everyone prayed out loud, but very quietly.  The room was filled with a holy murmur.

I think what we were doing was really American style prayer.  Fortunately , God hears us no matter how loudly we speak.

 

We used this prayer activity at a Consistory meeting on 12/12/12. (In honor of the date, we had three dozen delicious “Herwaldt” cookies. )

We dedicate the first hour of the Consistory meeting to prayer, so we did all three “rounds” listed below.  Rounds one and three can stand alone; Round 2 is helped by doing Round 1. The first round takes 5-10 minutes.  The second round took twenty minutes; the length depends on how many people are at the meeting.  We spent twenty minutes with the round three small group interactions, and closed with the large group prayer time.  Each person had a one page copy of the instructions, with room to write responses to Rounds 2 and 3.

Psalm 136 has the famous refrain after each verse: “for his steadfast love endures forever”

 Round 1:  Go around the room, each consecutively reading the first part of a verse, and all responding with the refrain: “for his steadfast love endures forever”

 Round 2:  Take a few minutes to write down your personal add-on verses.  Note Psalm 136 extols God for who he is, both as creator and sustainer.  Go around the room twice, each person saying one of their verses, and all responding with the refrain.  Note: you might want to have four or five “verses” ready, in case you don’t want to repeat what others have said.

Examples:

“To Him whose blood set us free from the tyranny of the devil.”  for his steadfast love endures forever…

“We praise our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”   for his steadfast love endures forever…

“To the one who assures us of eternal life.”  for his steadfast love endures forever…

 Round 3:  God’s steadfast love is all about Him keeping His promises.  Break into small groups of 3-4.  Each person will share an instance/event/God sighting from their life emphasizing how God kept His promise.  To prompt your memories, a partial list of God’s promises follows (supplied by Pastor Ben F.):

– God works all things together for our good (Romans 8.28)

– Whatever you give, He will give more (Malachi 3.10; Mark 10.29-30)

– Eternal life (John 3.16)

– Blessings, love, redemption, wisdom, inheritance, hope, Holy Spirit and more (Ephesians 1)

– Will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13.5, Joshua 1.5)

– Answers our prayers; hears our prayers (John 15.7, Romans 8.26)

– Disciplines us because he loves us (Hebrews 12.3-11)

– Keeps us (Psalm 121)

– Hope (Hebrews 6.13-20)

– Wisdom (James 1.5-6)

– Forgives us when we confess our sins (1 John 1.9)

Close in large group with prayers of thanksgiving.

How Have You Seen God At Work?         

A God Hunt discussion / prayer activity brings together two great Bible verses:

Romans 8.28 (NIV) – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Colossians 4.2 (NIV) – “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

God promises to be working in our lives, in fact working in all parts of our lives.  Sometimes we can see Him at work. It makes sense to look for it, to be expecting our eyes and ears to be opened!  Ask each person to tell the group how they have observed or known that God is at work – it could be beauty in nature, an answered prayer, encouragement from a friend, a miracle, or a thousand other possibilities.

Have someone keep track of the sharing.  Then remind everyone of Colossians 4.2, noting some of these things we prayed for, that the God Hunt helps us be watchful, and now we need be thankful.  Have the list taker or someone else give thanks for the ways you have all seen God at work.

Do this regularly as a group, and the members will start regular observations so they can bring something to share.

 

For more information on looking for God, see The God Hunt, by Karen Mains, InterVarsity Press

 

The best group prayer “activity” I have been involved in might be called a Thanksgiving Circle.  It is simple and has always lifted the spirits of the group. 

Stand in a circle.  The leader starts and briefly states something they are thankful for.  Examples: “Thank you, Lord, for the great weather today,”  “Thanks for getting me a job,” “Thank you for being able to pray together freely.”  Then the next person states a thanks.  Go around the circle ten times.  The leader keeps track and closes when done.

Listen to others’ prayers, and you will get more ideas of things you are thankful for.

You don’t have to hold hands, but if you do, it gives a person a chance to “pass” without saying anything – a hand squeeze means “please skip me this time.”

Don’t worry about repeats.

I have done this with groups of 5-10.  Not sure it would work as well with too big a group.

The current world record for the number of complete cycles through the group is 10.