Comments on: The "pray if you feel led" prayer.

By: Trista

Trista — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 14:18:05 +0000

I prefer the hold hands and squeeze prayer circles. Everyone holds hands, but no finger interlocking, and you squeeze the next hand when you are done praying. You can pray out loud or silently. The opener also closes. It solves all the problems. When it is your turn, you can have a moment of silence and everyone knows you were praying quietly. No one jumps in front of you because they know it isn’t their turn yet. I once led this prayer in VBS with 1-3rd graders. One little girl was just about in tears because she was scared to pray out loud. I took her aside and gave her a big hug (and not the sidehug, she needed more.) I then told her she did not have to pray out loud, just pray quietly when it was her turn and then squeeze her neighbors hand when she was done, but that I would pray for her to have the strength to pray out load when it was her turn. I did. She did. It was a beautiful moment. So that is why the hand holding/squeezing prayer circle is superior to the “pray if you feel led” prayer circle.

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:56:44 +0000

Too bad we can´t just pray if and when we feel led….without feeling pressured or scrutinized.

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:53:35 +0000

The “Echo-er”…the person that prays in an audible voice along with you, kind of like an echo. It is very distracting.

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:42:15 +0000

ugh . . . i hate it when someone prays for the exact same thing I just prayed for. did i not do a good enough job? i have to then ignore the rest of their prayer and pray for patience as i hear them continuing to ramble like a jon acuff.

By: Stu

Stu — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:35:15 +0000

That is flat out brilliant, because it’s so true.

By: Amanda Sass

Amanda Sass — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 02:41:29 +0000

Wow. so many kinds of pray-ers.
I think I’ve been almost every one at some point or another. I love Jesus, but there are so many little eccentric nuances in modern Christianity and I love that you call attention to it, without mocking Christ.
Sometimes I look at things I do and say and (I freely confess) observe what those around me do and say and it’s ridiculous. I found a drawing that I personally think sums it up well: http://amandasass.com/2010/12/09/jesus-gets-frustrated-too/

By: liz

liz — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:14:19 +0000

I see Closers as much different – rather than a quick close, the Closer has the most responsibility – they have to keep track of anything on the prayer list that wasn’t prayed for by anyone else (like Karen’s cat that ran away) and make sure it’s mentioned so Karen’s feelings aren’t hurt that nobody bothered to pray for her concern. They also are responsible for making sure any global concerns are prayed for (like Japan the week after the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster). Wouldn’t want to have it seem as if we only care about our petty concerns and not the world/culture around us. Or am I over-analyzing?

By: Liz

Liz — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:58:09 +0000

hilarious!

By: D

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:44:06 +0000

THE SILENT ONE: Their prayer is so inaudible. You have no idea if they’re really saying real words or not…

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:37:08 +0000

Hahaha amazing. Love your attention to detail with all these roles. So spot-on.