Creative Expressions of Prayer in Your Community Group

Perhaps, like me, you’ve felt the need to rethink your approach to prayer in your Community Group.  Here are 24 creative expressions of prayer you may want to consider.  Making a change in your meeting time can go a long way toward gaining momentum in your group! [Click here for printable PDF of this list]

Do you have some creative expressions of prayer you’ve seen work well in your group? Share them below in the reply section!

24 Creative Expressions of Prayer in Your Community Group

1. Have group members share where they believe they are in their relationship with God and have others in the group pray for them.

2. Have group members pray a sentence of gratitude to God for how He has been revealing Himself recently.

3. Consider purchasing journals, or having group members purchase their own journals to keep an ongoing record of what they ought to be praying for in the group.

4. With worship music in the background, have group members write down their prayers (journal) about where they are sensing God is wanting to have greater authority in their lives, relationships, ministry, etc.

5. Share with your group an overview of God’s names, and then have each person pray prayers of adoration noting which ‘name of God’ means most right now in their lives.

6. Lead your group in praying through a Psalm, or through another Scripture(s).

7. Lead your group into a time of silent prayer…being quiet before God to listen to Him; this might be accompanied with some group members reading Scriptures that the Spirit surfaces in them during the quiet.

8. Sing a hymn as a group for your prayer time.

9. Have group members celebrate in prayer how they have witnessed God work through them in the last week/month to expand His Kingdom in someone else.

10. Lead group members to pray on a regular basis for those individuals that group members are reaching out to evangelistically (consider names on each individual PV “IMPACT CARD”.

11. Lead group members to pray for a specific missionary in an ongoing basis and the Kingdom work that person is engaged in…be sure to communicate with the missionary to ascertain specific prayer needs, so the group can be more engaged.

12. Consider prayer walking the entire church facility during a weekend worship service time, lifting up all of the ministry that is going on at the church.

13. Utilize special circumstances experienced by a group member (death of loved one, job loss, marital separation, personal physical ailment) to gather the group outside of the group meeting.

14. Allow prayer to take up the entire meeting as you lay hands on certain individuals in need of more focused prayer.

15. Lead the group to a season of prayer and fasting for a particular member in the group.

16. After taking prayer requests, group the requests into categories and have one person pray over that category (e.g., illness, finances, relational difficulties, ministry opportunities)

17. Pass out index cards to group members to write down an area of provision where they are asking God to show up.  Redistribute index cards and have group members pray throughout the next couple of weeks on that topic…even considering praying for that person over the phone at some point in that week.

18. If in a couple’s group, have spouses pray with and for each other’s marriage/children/current realities, etc.

19. If in a singles’ group, have group members pair up and pray for each other’s current realities, including any children, and future spouse.

20. If the group has been meeting a while, have group members split into smaller groups (2-3), and share areas where they are struggling to forgive, then having the sub-group pray for them.

21. Do communion as a group, but before taking the elements, spend some time in silent and/or confessing prayer as group members examine themselves.

22. Have group members write on an index card an area in their life where they are in need of God’s forgiveness.  Collect the cards in a box, pray over them as leader, and then discard the box (garbage can, burning in the grill).  You might even consider using water-soluble paper, and placing the paper in water.

23. Split into smaller sub-groups (3 – 4, gender specific) and share where the journey is more difficult and pray for each other’s temptations.

24. As a group, having a special group meeting time where group members drive to each other’s houses and prayer walk around that home for God’s protection from the enemy and strength to resist temptation.

What are some creative expressions of prayer you’ve seen work well in your group?