God commands us in His Word to pray for one another. James 5:16 says, “Pray for one another.” Ephesians 6:18 says, “Make supplication for all the saints.” 1 Timothy 2:1 encourages believers to make prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for all people. There are numerous other Scriptures encouraging people to pray. It is important to allow time for Sunday School class members to share prayer requests and needs each Sunday morning. Class members need to know how to pray for one another. By sharing prayer concerns, class members know that others care about what is going on in their lives, family, and friends. But often, prayer concerns can take up a large portion of the Sunday School time. The Bible study time is very important and we need to make sure we have plenty of time to get into the lesson and study God’s Word.
Here is an idea of getting more people involved in sharing and praying and not taking a huge amount of time. Instead of asking for prayer requests in your class divide your class into smaller groups of 2-4 people. Ask the groups to share prayer concerns and needs and pray for one another. Bob Mayfield with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma suggests that teachers form groups of four and ask people to write prayer requests on a small index card and pass it to the person on his or her right. The small group then has a prayer time and each person prays for the concerns and needs on the card he or she has received. Encourage people to place the cards in their Bibles as a reminder to pray for those specific needs. This method helps get everyone involved in sharing prayer requests and everyone praying for one another. This should not take any longer than 5-10 minutes. Another option is to collect the cards and then have the prayer coordinator compile a list of prayer concerns and needs and email them to the class members.
In the space below please share some comments on how you have handled prayer requests in your class.
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