Our Emerging Experience of Prayer. Prayer emerged in the life of our congregation in quiet emphases in the early months of June, July, and August following my appointment as pastor in Canyon in mid-1990. The first comment above, "Everything done was 'grounded in prayer' always praying to seek God's will regarding any event," is an accurate description of our unfolding experience of prayer. Each meeting was intentionally opened and closed in prayer. Committees, boards, and even office meetings of two or three people were begun and ended in prayer. Our weekly staff meetings particularly focused on a prayer time as we began and ended. In addition I asked each staff member to follow the pattern I had set of leading the opening prayer and presenting a short devotional. Even though this was a relatively new experience for some staff members, they graciously followed this prayer-devotional pattern of opening the staff meetings. Soon the comment "everything was grounded in prayer" became a reality as both staff and congregation members articulated their feelings about this regular prayer pattern with the following comment or similar affirmations: "Now it feels like our meetings have not really started until we have taken time to pray." Our diaconal minister-program director, Francie Pittman, was asked by a colleague what she particularly noticed in the first year of "your new pastor's tenure" and Francie responded, "We pray about everything, and I like it."
In addition to these more quiet processes, our worship services provided opportunities to more publicly emphasize prayer. A sermon series on prayer was underscored with bulletin inserts that provided prayers and prayer patterns. One was an anonymous "Acorn Prayer" that members later pulled from Bibles and purses as they told me this prayer had helped them in their prayer time, even enabling some to begin a regular pattern of daily prayer. The Acorn Prayer insert included two scripture verses to provide additional emphasis to its meaning.
Lord God, I am yours totally and completely without reservation. Use me as you wish, send me where you will, for I am dead and my life is hidden with Christ in God.
References:
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
The bulletin inserts also included prayer patterns, including the familiar "ACTS" - adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication pattern - with a brief explanation or focus for that element of the pattern.
