The Unexpected Blessings of Small Group Prayer

Last June/July, I invited several other single career women in my church to join me in prayer on Monday mornings. God had been growing my desire to begin a prayer group for several years, but when I sent out the initial invitation, I admit, I was skeptical. People are busy. No one is going to want to get up that early to pray. So many don't feel comfortable praying in public. I've never done something like this before; what do I know about leading a weekly prayer group? So many excuses! So many doubts! How ironic that the one eager to lead others in prayer was living in fear. And yet, the desire to pray collectively remained persistent and strong. My fears were put to shame and I confess I had no scope for just how incredibly sweet and encouraging weekly time in prayer with my sisters would be. Eight months later, nine of us ladies continue to meet every Monday morning at 6:00 AM (Yes! You read that correctly!) in what has become one of the most sacred and precious hours of the week. I'd love to share with you some of the specific unexpected blessings that have come from meeting together.

(Last week, spring break, we still met and enjoyed some breakfast with our usual coffee.)

But first...let me back up and explain why this time of prayer is so important. John 15:19 says, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you." We are promised peace through the Holy Spirit (John 14:27) but also tribulation from the world (John 16:33). We have been chosen and bought into God's kingdom, yet we live in a world that is in active rebellion against our King and that is currently ruled by one who is opposed to Him in every way. Not only is he at enmity with our King, but with us, and he "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). As career singles, a large part of our life is lived alone and independently, and isolation can be a cavern of temptations. I often say to the ladies, we need each other. We need to fight together, encourage each other, and equip one another as we run this race of life together.

The Unexpected Blessings

Encouragement. Whether it's from a disappointment at work, another defeat in the battle against sin, a frustration with one's spiritual growth (or lack thereof), or the profound weariness of looking at the road ahead and seeing only winter and bleakness, we all need encouragement. We need people to pick us up, help us get back on our feet, or maybe even carry us along for a while. Praying with these sisters has opened my eyes to their hearts and needs and has allowed me to share my own. As a result, the encouragement has been sweet and rich, indeed.

Unity. Jesus prays for unity for His followers in John 17:11--a oneness that He compares to His own union with His Father. Praying together, in Jesus' Name, has unified us. Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three have gathered together in my Name, I am there, in their midst." We all have different careers, different needs, and different burdens, but Christ unifies us and strengthens this unity through prayer.

Unintentional Accountability. I'm choosing the word "unintentional" because I did not start this prayer group for accountability purposes. It is simply a natural byproduct. When you know your sisters are praying for a specific area of struggle in your life and that they will be checking in with you next Monday morning (if not before), you live with a new level of consciousness in your fight against sin that is refining.

Improved Prayers. Listening to my sisters pray gives me such a freshness to my own personal prayer life, as I am able to borrow their words and phrases. This has helped my prayers from becoming too repetitive or stale. Additionally, we've learned together the most basic practicalities such as the best way to list requests and record our updates. Trivial, you think? I disagree. Anything that solidifies the mere process of praying is rewarding. The smallest prayer journal organization tool can be super enabling. Prayer is a learning experience and I truly believe my private prayers have been improved by the collective group prayers.

Joyful Fellowship. We do very little of "just talking" on Monday mornings. Time is short and the more we pray the more we have for which to pray! Even so, when we all head out to work, we leave feeling refreshed (though certainly still a little sleepy!) and rejuvenated.

Faith Building. At the end of December, I asked the ladies to come up with specific areas of spiritual growth they wanted to see in themselves this next year and courageous prayer requests that they might dare not even mention. I call them our "Bigs and Bolds." As one sister commented, this is rather a terrifying thing to do, for God may answer, and He may not (or at least not in our way). So very true. However, we must be willing to pray our deepest needs, greatest desires, and darkest fears. We pray by faith.

Truly, my love for prayer has grown significantly as a result of this prayer group. Furthermore, my love for the One to whom we pray has been deepened.

Every Monday morning, at 5:45, I start brewing a large pot of coffee, because, let's be honest, 6:00 AM is early any day of the week. One by one they arrive regardless of weather. (I'm quite spoiled in that they come to me.) We murmur our sleepy morning greetings as we fix our coffee and then we settle in for prayer. Each week is a little different in what we pray, though we always start with praise and adoration to get our hearts in a right posture before the Lord. We pray for salvation for unbelievers, for spiritual growth of friends and family, we pray for changed hearts over truths from either Sunday School or the sermon we heard the day before. We pray for the suffering and hurting, for the fainthearted, for our elders and pastors, for our colleagues and students, and the list goes on and on. Often I'll read a specific passage of Scripture and then we pray that Scripture for each other. We rarely go a morning without laughing and it is not unusual for there to be some crying, as well.

This prayer group has been the most unexpected blessing in my life this year.