Nav Tools - Alphabet Soup for the Small Group's Soul

Alphabet Soup for the Small Group’s Soul!

Enjoy the blessings of praying together with friends

How to Share Christ’s Love Visually

Even though we know how essential prayer  is for our spiritual health, we sometimes struggle to do it—especially with a group of other people. Here are a few ideas that can help break the ice and enable you and your friends to enjoy the blessings of praying together.

Alphabet Soup
Call out a letter of the alphabet. As group members think of an attribute of God that begins with that letter, have them say the word or phrase and then briefly praise God for that characteristic. For example, if someone says “T,” a group member might respond with “Trustworthy: Lord thank you that I can trust you.” Another person might add, “Tenderness: God, I praise you for your tender care.” The leader can frequently add a new letter to keep things moving.

The Name Above All Names
Compile a list of the different forms of the name Jehovah and what they mean. Make copies for everyone in the group. Spend a few minutes in quiet reflection about these names. Invite each person to share a name that is particularly meaningful to him or her—and to make it a short prayer. Someone might say, “Father, you are Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides. Thank you for providing me with a person to talk with this week when I was lonely.” (One source for a list of the names of God is The Hallelujah Factor by Jack Taylor, Broadman Press.)

  Global Perspective
Invite a missionary to share his or her experiences and perspectives with your group. Ask your missionary friend to share specific requests and pray for those requests as a group. If you don’t know a missionary you can invite, increase your group’s awareness of needs beyond our borders by watching a video that highlights cultural issues or conditions elsewhere in the world (Operation World’s website is a great resource: http://operationworld.org ). Use short segments to stimulate discussion and prayer.

Community Concerns
It’s easy to complain about concerns in your community. It’s much more useful to pray about them. And remember the promise that, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Clip articles from your newspaper about local issues or about people who have specific needs and use these clippings as a basis for intercession. You may choose to pray as a group—or you may decide to split up into pairs to pray.